


Runaway Christmas

by greekowl87



Category: The X-Files
Genre: AU, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Gen, alternative universe, just because, post revival, revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2018-09-10 22:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8942050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekowl87/pseuds/greekowl87
Summary: “Tell you what, Van de Kamp. I know you have been in trouble before so you know what you're doing.” He paused, spotting a doctor with red hair and impossibly high heels shouldering her purse and walking towards the hospital. “That woman. I got a dare for you, get her purse, and get away clean, I'll leave you alone for the rest of the year, and for 2017.”Will bit his bottom lip in thought. It was tempting but he did not steal. “I got in trouble for curfew, not stealing ladies' purses.”“What? You a chicken?”“No.” Will got up and clutched his skateboard. “No. Fine. I'll do it.”. . . .A little AU family Christmas fic involving Mulder, Scully, and Will.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted Christmas fluff and something has been gnawing at me to write this or something like it. Set during revival and assuming 'My Struggle II' didn't happen but set after 'Home Again.' Because I don't like cliff hangers like that and I want Christmas fluff for Mulder, Scully, and Will
> 
> P.S. I kinda edited quickly because I wanted to post it before I left for work. And I don't have a beta but if anyone was interested...

The eve before Christmas eve.

 

Scully took off her reading glass and gazed at her partner, who studied an ancient x-file in front of him. Mulder's own reading glasses had fallen to the bridge of his nose and he pushed them up as he rubbed his eyes wearily. She reflected silently to herself that she had seen this scene a thousand times, they sit across from each other, working on their report or researching old files. Except he was older. She was older. But she smiled to herself at the intimate familiarity that they still shared, even after all these years.

 

“Scully,” Mulder called, looking up from his file. “I'm going to get something from the vending machine. Do you want anything?”

 

She played with her gold cross and the quarter necklace absently. “Hm?” She looked up from her thoughts. “What was that, Mulder?”

 

“Do you want something from the vending machine?”

 

“Yes, please,” she smiled slightly.

 

Their partnership was on delicate ground as they began to rediscover each other once again. It started out simple enough as Scully going back to the unremarkable house to work on case files, Mulder occasionally spending the night at Scully's apartment because she would protest he was too tired to drive the hour's commute back to the country. One thing led to another, and while neither would admit it, being too proud, they had come back together. Mulder began to spend the work week going home with Scully and they would venture back to their home in Virginia country side on the weekends. When Scully lost her mother, it just pushed them back together even more.

 

“What do you want?” he asked.

 

“Surprise me,” she replied, gazing back down to her report.

 

He chuckled and pushed up himself from his desk. He went down the hall and pushed a couple of crumpled dollar bills into the drink machine and selected a Sprite for her and a Coke for himself. Gazing at his office door, he noticed the holiday wreath that Scully had affixed to the office door. When had she done that? Looking down at his watch, it was the 23rd, Friday. Shit. When had Christmas sneaked up on him?

 

He ventured back down to their office and presented her with the Sprite. “So,” he began tentatively, realizing that she had not mentioned any Christmas plans. He eased himself down into the office chair. “Wanna go to a haunted house?”

 

She looked up and arched an elegant eyebrow. “And you steal my car keys again?”

 

“Well, we could car pool.”

 

She chuckled and he smiled, glad he could get her to laugh slightly. She never laughed anymore. Her mother's death on caused her to grow quieter and more serious. “Mulder,” she said, shaking her head.

 

“No, but seriously, you going to see Bill or Charlie for Christmas?”

 

“No,” she said quietly, without looking up. “Bill is still in Germany and I think Charlie is taking a cruise with his kids, wife, and in laws or something in the Caribbean. I don't know.”

 

He shifted uncomfortably, trying to work up the courage to suggest they spend it together without frightening her and confirming they were a couple again. Scully looked at her watch suddenly. “It's already three? Shit.”

 

“What?”

 

“I am late for the hospital,” she said. “I promised the Mother Superior I would volunteer in the ER tonight, they're a little short staffed.”

 

“Oh,” he said, trying to hide his disappointment.

 

Scully got up and went to her purse. She dug through it and pulled out a key. “Here,” she said passing it to him.

 

“What is this?”

 

“A key to our apartment. I have been meaning to give it to you for a month now. I'll be home around ten tonight and I figured we could spend the night in the city and go back out to our house for Christmas this weekend tomorrow morning.”

 

He took the warm key from her hand and paused, realizing what she had said. “Wait. _Our apartment_?”

 

She looked up and realized what she had said as well. Then she smiled slightly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

 

“So does that mean were official again?” he asked, standing up. He kissed her teasingly. “Hm?”

 

The gentle kissing and signs of affection. She smiled thinking of where those small little things tended to leave and how in their old age, they never lost that flame. She returned the kiss gently. “We were never unofficial, just a little lost. Look, I am going to be late. I'll be home tonight at ten...”

 

“Why don't we go out tonight instead, grab a late dinner? I'll pick you up at the hospital?” he asked.

 

“You can pick me up any time you want,” she teased, giving him a rare, real smile. Mulder chuckled.

 

“Can I now?”

 

He had gotten up and placed his hands on either side of her, effectively trapping her. Her smiled softening as she caressed his cheek and then moved to straighten his tie. “I'm already late as it is and the last time we weren't exactly quiet...”

 

“Come on,” he goaded. “I need to know if you've been naughty or nice.”

 

“Mulder,” she coaxed. “Not here. Not now. Later.” She smoothed his tie. “Now, go home and get us packed for this weekend. Go be a good man wife. And pick me up from the hospital tonight at ten.”

 

“Yes, Ms. Scully,” he smiled, kissing her goodbye. “I will say this, old age has really mellowed you out. I remember a time you would threaten to shoot me for kissing you in public.”

 

“We really aren't a secret anymore,” she replied. “Tonight at ten. Remember!”

 

She pulled on her coat and gathered her purse. She left and Mulder smiled to himself. He really did not care about Christmas, he was just happy to have her back.

 

. . . .

 

The lanky teenager picked up his skateboard and sat on the bench across from the hospital. The other teenagers continued to skate in front of him. He had startling crystal blue eyes and shaggy unkempt brown hair that went every which way. He was glad they had finally found a skate spot that really did not care about them as long as they stayed out the way of the ambulances and patients. Christmas was always a sad time for him. Two years prior, he had lost his adopted parents during a Wyoming blizzard on the way back from church Christmas eve. He then found himself in the care of a some distant great aunt that lived in Washington D.C on his dad's side, his only living family. But then, she had died suddenly two within six months of him getting to the nation's capitial. Now, he was a ward of the state, another nameless kid stuck in foster care.

 

Will really didn't mind the foster home he was in with three other teenagers his age. The foster parents were nice enough and kind of let him do his own thing. They were the ones that encourage they put his energy into something useful instead of lashing out and getting in trouble with the cops after losing his parents and that distant aunt. So he got into skateboarding and he wasn't that bad either. One of the other kids stopped skating and noticed the distant look in Will's eye.

 

“Van de Kamp!” he shouted. “Will!”

 

“Hm?”

 

“What's going on, Van de Kamp?”

 

“Just thinking.”

 

“You're always thinking,” the other teenager mocked.

 

“At least I know what I am doing,” he came back. “Who wrote your last paper for you and got you the A+? Hm, oh yeah that was me. Lay off, Tommy.”

 

“You think you're so cool, don't ya?” Tommy came back. “Super secret mysterious kid shows up to school.”

 

Will gritted his teeth. Tommy was a part of a few kids he knew from high school that skated. He wasn't really friends with any of them. He hadn't had friends since he left Wyoming, but they kept him around because he was ridiculously good at school work and it did not take long for Will to figure out he could turn a quick buck by writing someone's paper. But he really was not friends with anyone.

 

“Shut up,” he said. He hated Christmas. He hated everything about this day. “Just shut up.”

 

“Tell you what, Van de Kamp. I know you have been in trouble before so you know what you're doing.” He paused, spotting a doctor with red hair and impossibly high heels shouldering her purse and walking towards the hospital. “That woman. I got a dare for you, get her purse, and get away clean, I'll leave you alone for the rest of the year, and for 2017.”

 

Will bit his bottom lip in thought. It was tempting but he did not steal. “I got in trouble for curfew, not stealing ladies' purses.”

 

“What? You a chicken?”

 

“No.” Will got up and clutched his skateboard. “No. Fine. I'll do it.” He eyed the woman walking across the sidewalk. Those heels should make it easy for her not to chase after him. And he did have his skateboard. “Just watch for cops, okay?”

 

. . . .

 

Scully did not pay any attention to the group of kids skateboarding. She was lost in her thoughts, allowing herself to grow excited about the idea of being with Mulder again and enjoying Christmas as they had in the past years, staying in bed all day, making love, cooking a good dinner, and watching _A Christmas Story_ at night. She was happy to have her family back. Scully was so lost in her thoughts, she failed to hear the wheels of a skateboard approaching behind her and some grab her purse violently. In her shock, she lost hold of her bag.

 

The kid skating suddenly lost his balance and fell off the board. He did not look over his shoulder as he scrambled to his feet and began to run. Scully sighed, not really wanting to run and chase after some kid in her new heels but she was not going to let some hooligan take her bag.

 

When Will heard the incessant clicking of heels behind him, he looked behind to see the woman chasing him effortlessly. Surprised with what he saw, he failed to noticed the wall in front of him that he was quickly approaching.

 

It happened fast and Scully physically winced when she saw the kid slam into the brick wall. But she took advantage of the moment and withdrew the cuffs she kept on her from her jacket pocket. The kid rolled with agony as she said, “You're under arrest.”

 

Fuck. Will had to snatch a cop's purse.

 

“For what,” he groaned. “How do I know you're a cop?”

 

Scully quickly withdrew her badge. “Try FBI.”

 

“Shit,” he groaned. “Shit.”

 

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Scully asked, pulling the kid to his feet. She looked up to see the other kids watching the exchange wide eyed and then hospital security coming to greet her. “Stop struggling.”

 

She finally had a moment to glance at the kid and he briefly looked into her eyes before looking away in shame. The one thing that left her momentarily shocked was the blueness of his eyes.

 

“Dr. Scully,” the security officer greeted. “Are you okay?”

 

“Yes,” she said mildly, passing the teenager off to the security guard. She regarded the lanky teen. “Get a doctor to check him out. He may have a concussion.” She gathered her fallen bag up from the cold ground. “And call his parents.”

 

“Not the police? Do you want to press charges?”

 

“It's Christmas,” she stated simply, watching the teen lower his head and stare at the ground. Her heart softened and she lost her zeal. She looked at her watch. She was already three hours late now for the volunteer hospital shift. “Have a good evening, Joey.”

 

“You too, Dr. Scully.”

 

Will looked up surprised and watched the red head doctor/ FBI agent began the walk back to hospital. He glanced to the security guard and watched the guard sigh. “You're damn lucky, kid.”

 

“Define lucky,” mumbled Will, “I'm in so much trouble.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so short. This weekend was extremely busy with Christmas and my mother. I am hoping to have all this done by New Year. Again, quickly written with no beta. Sorry for the typos. Please leave some feedback! Thanks!
> 
> P.S. Disclaimer applies as always, I own nothing, merely borrowing.

Will sat in the security office of the hospital, waiting for his social worker and the doctor to still examine him. He could already feel a decent size bruise developing beneath the ice pack he had pressed next to the side of his face. His skateboard and backpack sat next to him. He looked up and saw the security guard that had apprehended him earlier, Joe, sitting by his desk patiently filling out paperwork. Joe, sensing Will's lingering gaze, looked up to the lanky teenager. “What, kid?”

“Can I get a drink or something?” Will asked uncertainly.

Joe reached under his desk into a small mini fridge which the security department kept stashed with other food things. He put a can of soda on the side of the desk and went back to looking at his paperwork, without saying another word.

“When will Ms. Styron be here,” Will asked.

“It's Christmas,” the guard said. “You should have thought of that before you decided to snatch Dr. Scully's purse.”

“I wasn't going to steal it,” Will defended.

“What would you call that then, son?” The security guard looked up. Will was about to say something but the older man answered instead. “A word of advice. Just don't talk. The less you talk the better.”

“But she said she wasn't going to press charges,” he stammered, confused. “Why should I stay quiet?”

“Kid, just trust me. The less you say, the better. There's some magazines over there in the corner if you are bored.”

Will sighed and rubbed his face. Even though there was not going to be police charges, he was still in trouble. Already on thin ice with his social worker for the curfew violations and two trespassing violations, he had been warned by the judge that if he was in trouble again, he would be put in a group home rather than placed with a foster family and be forced to attend some court ordered therapy sessions. He didn't want that but he knew in his gut he was in trouble.

. . . .

 

Scully sighed, rolling her neck and secretly wished she had not worn those heels. Her feet were killing her. Somehow, heels suited her when it came to chasing monsters and the paranormal but not when she was trying to help out with the hospital. She glanced at her silver watch and smiled when she realized it was after ten. Her phone vibrated, notifying her she had a call. She drew out her phone absently and answered, “Scully.”

“Scully. It's me. You done?”

“Almost. Why don't you come in and meet me in the ER? I just need to see to one thing,” she said, her mind traveling to the kid who had tried to rob her.

“Hm. Meet you in the ER? Do you want coffee or something? One of those overly done sugar drinks?”

“Well, if you insist,” she teased, smiling and looking at her shoes. “I just want to make sure this kid is okay.”

“What kid?”

“Some kid tried to mug me,” she said absently, replaying it in her mind. “Nothing I couldn't take care of.”

She could hear Mulder's frown. “What about you getting back up for dangerous situations,” he teased.

“I told you, I'm immortal,” she replied sarcastically. “No, it was just some teenager. I think I surprised him by the fact that I can run in heels. He tried to take it while on his skateboard, then he fell when he heard me running, and then the poor thing ran head first into the brick wall.”

“Ow. How bad?”

“He should have a concussion, if not a really bad bruise,” she replied. “I got my stuff back, no problem, and I arrested him but I'm not pressing charges.”

“Why not, Scully,” he asked.

“It's Christmas. Look, I just wanna check on him, make sure everything is okay when you get here.”

“That's fine,” he said. “But once we get home, you're mine. No phones calls from work or Skinner, for both us.”

“I like the sound of it,” she teased. “See you in a bit.”

. . . .

“William was a bull frog, was a good friend of mine,” Will sung under his breath, pausing before humming a bit more and then finishing. “Joy to you and me.”

Just that small course Will could never remember where he heard it. His adopted parents never sang it to him. He did not remember hearing it else where except in a vague song from the 60s or 70s. He could never remember all of it, just those few words. He said them like a prayer under his breath, unsure of the meaning or where they came from. All he knew it brought him comfort, either when he was upset or really anxious. Something about it made him feel at ease. Like right now. He was still waiting for his social worker and had yet to see a doctor.

The security guard had barely spoken to him but had kindly enough gotten him a soda and a snack from the vending machines and found some more interesting magazies for Will to look at. Will had mumbled 'thanks' before shutting himself off again, letting himself get lost in his own thoughts.

He heard someone approaching the door, two distinct pairs of steps. His heart sunk, thinking it was his social worker and a cop. But when he saw the same doctor that had arrested him, the FBI agent/doctor, and a tall man wearing a suit, he wondered how much trouble he was in still.

“Joe,” Scully greeted, looking at the boy softly. “Has a doctor come by and seen him?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Scully,” the tall man called softly, gently touching her arm. “We can find someone...”

“I want to do it myself, Mulder,” she admonished, wondering herself why she suddenly had to the urge to help this boy.

Mulder raised his hands up in defense and shrugged. He came in behind Scully and sat in a chair across from Will. Will shifted uneasily and stared at Mulder. “Are you FBI too?”

“Yeah,” Mulder said bluntly, “I'm her partner.”

“Shit,” Will mumbled.

“You're mother should really teach you better language,” Scully said, removing the ice pack from Will's face. She hissed under her breath as he winced. “I barely touched you.”

“It still hurts,” he hissed, pulling away.

“I want to x-ray it,” she said softly.

“I'm fine,” he hissed again. “I can't afford it anyhow.”

Scully paused and pulled a penlight from her pocket and instructed, “Follow the light for me. What's your name?”

“I thought you being FBI you would know that,” he mumbled, following the light easily. “I'm fine. I've taken harder hits falling off my skateboard.”

“Hm. Why did you try to take my purse?”

“It was a dare,” he mumbled, looking down at the floor.

“Kid...” Mulder began.

“Will. My name is Will.”

Scully pulled back her hand and Will looked up, confused. In that moment, she noticed how blue his eyes were, almost like hers. She felt her breath caught and at the moment, Ms. Styron, his social worker came in. Mulder remained quiet, noticing the silent change in Scully, and watched Will with a profiler's eye. “William Van De Kamp,” she sighed, shaking her head. “What did the judge tell you?”

“Stay out of trouble,” he mumbled.

Ms. Styron looked at Scully and Mulder. “And you are?”

“Dana Scully,” Scully said, offering her hand. “And that there is my partner, Fox Mulder.”

“Are you the one who he robbed?”

“I really wouldn't call it robbing,” Scully said, looking at Will. “I am not pressing charges. It was him just being a kid.”

“If you can call it that,” Ms. Styron said softly. “Will here has been in trouble off and on for the past year.”

“Are you his mother?” Scully asked.

“No, ma'am. I'm his case worker.”

“Case worker,” Mulder asked quietly, piping up from the corner.

“Yes.”

“I'm a foster kid,” Will said.

Scully watched Will, each of their blue eyes meeting each other. She felt a stranger shiver come over her and she looked to Mulder wondering if he had felt it to. Ms. Styron, oblivious to Scully, continued on. “Well, even if you don't press charges, this still doesn't bode will for him. It's still going on his record. The kid's in trouble no matter what.”

“Let it go,” Scully said. “He meant no harm.”

Will watched her, surprised by this turn of events. Ms. Styron shrugged and nodded to Will. “Let's take you home, Will. You're foster parents are worried about you.”

Will said nothing but began to absently hum under his breath. Scully turned sharply to look at Will. She heard him sing under his breath, “William was a bullfrog...”

She had not heard that since...William. She blindly reached for Mulder. Memories flashed in her head of Emily, burying her, William, having to give him up. She felt Mulder's large, warm hand grasp hers and pull her towards him. Could it be? No. She dismissed it but could not help but entertain the thought. His eyes. Will's eyes were like hers. And he was mumbling the song...the song she used to sing to baby William. Her mind glazed watching Will disappear out the door and Ms. Styron following him out into the hallway.

Mulder sensed the change in her and he pulled her close. He kissed her brow and nuzzled her head. “What is it?”

Scully was quiet and shook her head, dismissing it. “Nothing, Mulder. Let's go home.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connecting the dots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still the same.
> 
> Okay, there was a post floating on Tumblr a few months ago where someone observed that the onesie with flying saucers was the last thing Will was wearing before he got adopted. And someone mentioned that was the last thing that Mulder had given his son. I remember fics being written and that somehow became a part of my headcannon and I included it in this chapter. However, I could not find the source but I just wanted to give kudos to whoever created that post. If you find a link, please let me know!
> 
> P.S. More soon. Sorry for being so short. And please let me know what you think. And no beta again. Sorry. If anyone is interested, please let me know!

Scully nuzzled Mulder's chest as the cool air ran through the unremarkable house out in rural Virginia. It was cool outside, warmer than usual. Scully had partially wished that it was a white Christmas but she was happy to have a rainy Christmas too. He snored lightly, clutching Scully to him, even in his sleep. His arm was wrapped tightly around her, their legs entwined. She clutched the soft cotton of his tee shirt in thought before relaxing. Mulder was fast asleep but somehow to sense her unrest. 

“What is it,” he breathed, kissing her hair.

She felt herself relax, feeling his large warm go up her shirt and expand across her rib cage and her breast. He squeezed it comfortingly before trailing his hand down her side, slowly massaging her entire body. “Hm,” she purred, closing her eyes.

“You're tense,” he whispered softly. 

“I know,” she replied.

“What are you thinking about?”

Scully was quiet as she thought back to that lanky teenager with the startling blue eyes. What was his name? Will...William. His eyes reminded her a lot of her own son. And then the song. He kept mumbling that song, the lullaby she used to sing William.

“Our son,” she whispered. “Of Emily. My mother.”

She felt Mulder take a deep breath and squeeze her gently in solidarity. Scully closed her eyes in silent reflection. She remembered how hard Emily had been, finding she had a daughter to love only to have her taken so fast. William...their miracle...the child she carried for nine months...the child she had to give up to keep him safe. Her mother. Now words were needed. It was just her mother. Scully's breath hitched as she felt new tears. She kissed his chest hungrily and slowly worked her way up to his jawline and then his lips.

“Mulder,” she whispered.

“Hm.”

“Show me that you are still here, please.”

“Forever.”

. . . .

Will tried to remember what his mom used to say. That all bad things just happen and don't last forever. He was a good kid, his mom said, and he would be fine. Sitting up out on the front stoop of his foster parents' townhouse, he looked down at a picture in his hand of his adopted parents and then out to the street. It was officially Christmas eve and he missed them more than anything. But the events of tonight weighed on his mind. Although he would not be charged, it was still on his records. The social worker warned him and now he had to meet with a judge sometime after Christmas and before the New Year. He did not know what would happen, just that his future looked even more uncertain.

. . . .

Mulder got up from bed and smoothed Scully's errant red hair before tucking her back in and kissing her. He got up and pulled on sweats and a hoodie. Something was bothering him, almost like one of those hunches that would lead them on one of their cases. His photographic memory kept replaying two things, the boys eyes, which had looked eerily similar to Scully's (and it had noticeably caught her off guard) and the boy's name, William Van De Kamp.

He kept telling himself he was doing this for Scully, if not give her some closure, but secretly he was doing it for himself too. He had to know. Mulder regretted not being in his son's life except for a brief 72 hours. Of course, the moment Scully told him that she had to give him up to protect their miracle hurt him to the very core. But could he blame her? No. Maybe if he had stayed with them, none of this would have happened. But Scully did not blame him, and he could not either. But maybe...

Being an FBI agent has its perks again. Although he had to deal with government red tape again, he did regain his security clearance and found countless databases at the touch of his finger tips. Much of it he could access from their home. Quietly, he went out into their living room and dug out his laptop. He clicked absently before pulling access up to Virginia and Washinton D.C. child services. He hesitated before typing in “VAN DE KAMP, WILLIAM” and was about to hit enter.

“Mulder.”

He jumped, turning around but felt her warm hands around his neck and began to unconsciously massage his shoulders. “Scully,” he whispered, bending his head to kiss her.

She hugged him and whispered, “Where has my heater run off to?”

“I can't sleep.”

“Hmmm.” She looked up to the screen and squinted her eyes. “Are you looking up that kid?”

He nodded slightly as she continued to hug him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Do it.”

He gazed at her and her blue eyes shined with unshed tears. He clicked enter absently and sought her hands, pulling her closer.

The file that came up was normal. Adopted in Wyoming, parents died in a car crash, he came to D.C. to live with some distant relative who died soon after, and then he was put into the system. Mulder clicked the pictures absently, whispering, “I wish there was more.”

“Wait.”

She stilled and had coiled around Mulder. Her slim fingers touched the computer screen and the tears began to come. Mulder focused his eyes on what caught his attention. It was a small baby wearing a onesies with little UFO's flying around. “That looks like what I got him,” he whispered.

“Because that is what you got him. Mulder, that's William...that's our William. He was wearing that when...when I had to give him up. Mulder, that's our son.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I just know, Mulder. That's him. That's our son.”

Mulder pulled Scully into his lap and snaked his arms around her in a tight embrace. He pressed a kiss to her temple, as if trying to channel the power of her certanity. “It is,” he admitted after a long moment. He kept thinking about their eyes...Will's and Scully's...they had the same eyes. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized Will looked a little like him and more like Scully.

“That's our son, Mulder...” she cried, curling into him.

“Yes,” he murmured, gazing at the picture at the computer screen. “Yes, it is.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Court day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing! You know the drill.
> 
> Thank you for the feedback. I seem to only write this fic in chunks, days at a time, so I wrote this in only couple of hours. If you hung in this long, thank you! If you're new, thank you for reading. Again, feedback is always welcome!
> 
> Also, no beta. If anyone is interested, please let me know!

Will was wearing a button down shirt and khakis. His unruly hair was combed to the side, his blue eyes showed his nervousness. There was a large bruise on the side of his face that came from him running head first into the wall. His social worker sat quietly next to him as they await their turn in juvenile court. Will pulled at the collar of his shirt nervously, stretching his undershirt beneath the button down shirt. “You shouldn't be nervous, Will,” Ms. Styron, his social worker, said quietly.

“I'm in court. Again. These other kids...they've actually done stuff. I haven't.”

“I wouldn't call stealing a purse nothing.”

“It was dare,” he said under his breath. He shifted uncomfortably and felt Ms. Styron grab his arm in warning. “Sorry!”

“Will, this is your last chance,” she warned. “The judge won't cut you any slack.”

He tried to remember the female doctor's name. Scully...that was her name. “Dr. Scully said she wouldn't press charges. Did she change her mind?”

“No,” Ms. Styron said, digging through her large bag that sat next to her. She pulled out a thick file. “But your past troubles of trespassing, curfews...you remember you community service stints? And all of this in less than a year, William?”

“Will,” he corrected under his breath.

Only his parents would call him William when he was in trouble. And he was in trouble. He looked down at his hands and began to recite his unconscious song that had become a mantra and soothed him. “William was bullfrog...”

Ms. Styron sighed as Will became absorbed within himself, a terrible habit which she had tried to break. Ever since he went into to the system, he shut down. He had his skateboarding, which she was glad for, but he was confused and lost. First losing his parents, and then some distant aunt, and then being tossed out into the unknown. She felt bad for the kid. She read his file before she even met him. He was the product of a closed adoption. She could only imagine that his birth mother, probably some young thing who had to give up for the better. She could imagine the worst circumstances. But now...there was a lot on the line for William.

The court room that Will and Ms. Styron was full odd peoples. Other kids, parents, social workers. Quietly the court room doors opened and two more people, a man and woman, snuck in and sat in the very last row, closest towards the doors. The woman sought the man's hands and entwined her fingers with his. “Are we sure about this, Mulder?” she whispered.

Mulder did not care as he brushed a long, stray piece of hair from Scully's face. Her blue eyes were red from crying earlier in the morning on the way to the courthouse. “Yes. We both agreed, remember? We want our son back. We can get him back.”

“How, Mulder? We risk everything...”

“He's our miracle,” he whispered, looking around cautiously, eyeing their son. “We agreed. Remember? Right after when we went on the run?”

“We do what's best for William,” she whispered in reply. She clutched their hands to her chest. “You're my only family, Mulder.”

“Not just me,” he whispered too. He nuzzled her forehead and nudged her to look ahead. “Look at him. He take more after you than me. I see so much of you in him, Scully. I studied the most recent pictures. He had your nose. Hopefully he has my charming personality.”

She chuckled, causing some people to stare at them. Mulder looked up protectively. “We have to be strong,” he whispered, squeezing her hands. “We have to get our son back.”

“What happens if he doesn't want us?”

“We'll cross that bridge if we get there,” he whispered softly into her hair. “Be strong, Scully. I know you can be. If not for me, for William.”

She nodded and took a deep breath, trying to draw her strength from Mulder. She looked up and rubbed her eyes. Mulder watched her become the cool and level headed agent he knew so well, but his Scully was there too. She did not let go of his hands. Instead, she stared start ahead, fixedly on Will, watching him like a mother would. She was not going to lose him again.

“All rise!”

The court officer's order startled everyone in the court room. Scully jumped slightly but Mulder stilled her. He watched his son from a distance, who had jumped just like Scully. The social worker weakly touched William's shoulder, trying to offer some sort of comfort. He shrugged her off and Mulder could not help feel that was his place, to comfort his son, despite only knowing him through pictures, Scully's story, and a brief 72 hours. Scully squeezed his hands as they watched the judge enter.

The judge was short, stout, old, and male. Scully looked at Mulder and he shook his head. Their wordless communication did them well as he smirked at the irony of the situation and she smiled at the whole stereotypical situation. The judge was Hartwell.

Neither Mulder or Scully were familiar with him but they could tell he meant business. They watched Will stiffen, ready to fight.

“First off,” the judge began, lowering his glasses, glancing off at the paperwork. “Happy New Year to everyone. Now. First order of business...ah, Will. I thought you had learned your lesson by now, William.”

Mulder and Scully watched their son stand and his social worker. Scully felt Mulder's hand gently grasp her forearm, warning her to wait.

“Come forward, Will.”

William looked nervous. His shoulder were slouched and his head was bowed. He shuffled forward passed the audience area and towards the judge's bench. Scully's heart ached and Mulder was the only thing restraining her from jumping up and trying to help her son.

“Yes, sir,” he spoke humbly.

Will remind of both of them Mulder for a moment. Will looked up. “She said she wouldn't press charges.”

“That may be, son,” the judge began looking up. “But you're still in trouble.”

“How come I don't get a lawyer?” Will defended. “Or something? Ms. Styron isn't doing shit!”

“Watch your language, young man,” the judge snapped. He leaned forward menacingly and held his thumb and index finger close together. “You are this close to be thrown in juvenile hall.”

Scully could not contain herself anymore and broke away from Mulder. Fifteen years of gulit and motherly love and protective instincts that never went away came tumbling out in one fierce moment. “Can I please say something?” she practically shouted.

Mulder winced and drew back, crossing his arms and leg. He knew that Scully was on rampage and there was no use in stopping her, only to back her up. 

“And you are?”

“Dana Scully,” she said, raising her voice. “I am a special agent with FBI, a volunteer doctor at Our Lady Sorrows, and the one Mr. Van de Kamp is accused of robbing.”

“Mr. Van de Kamp isn't accused of anything.”

“Then why is he here?”

She strode forward and Mulder followed her, grabbing her shoulder gently. She shrugged him off and looked at her son. Will was wide eyed, wondering why this stranger was suddenly defending him. “He has a prior record...why am I even discussing this with you, Agent Scully and who is that man following you?”

“Agent Mulder,” Mulder said softly. “I'm her partner.” In the loosest sense of the term, he thought.

“Because...” Scully stopped herself, looking towards Mulder. He nodded. “Fifteen years ago, I gave up my son in a closed adoption. Agent Mulder was...is the father of my son. Our son.”

“I still don't see where you are going, Agent Scully,” the judge sighed.

Scully looked to Mulder, questioningly. He nodded. “William,” she began, the words foreign on her tongue. “I don't want anything to happen to him.”

“You can't protect him,” the judge said. “You won't press charges but he is still in trouble.”

“What if we adopt him,” she stammered, her emotions getting the best of her.

Will looked at her, the same crazed look in his eye that Mulder always had. Mulder inched closer to her and nodded. 

“We?” the judge asked.

“Mulder and I...” she began the words seemed lost. She looked towards Mulder and then Will. Her William, her son. She took a deep breath trying to steady herself. “We're his biological parents. I am the one who...” 

Her voice was caught in her throat and she could not bear to look at her son. She felt Mulder kiss her neck subtly, hiding it from the public. “We can do it,” he whispered softly. “We can do it, Scully.”

We. She took in a deep breath. “I gave him up for adoption when he was 11 months old. DNA tests will prove he is our son. I would like...I want to adopt her son back, if he'll have us.”

She looked towards Will, who had suddenly shut his eyes and burrowed his faced in his hands. It was all becoming too much for him. He began to mumble the stupid song to himself, wishing himself somewhere else. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. How could it?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Own nothing, merely borrowing.
> 
> So, trying to finish this thing. I wrote this chapter over the course of a few hours. I hope it turned out okay. Still haven't finished this little thing yet though but please let me know what you think so far! Thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S. Sorry for any typos. I tried to make sure I caught everything.

Scully sat with Mulder outside of the judge's office, holding tightly to his hand. Inside, William and Ms. Styron sat on the opposite side of the door, talking to the judge. She looked to Mulder quietly. “I shouldn't have yelled like that in court. My outburst was completely uncalled for.”

Mulder did not care anymore about public appearance. He stopped caring awhile ago. He drew his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. He kissed her hair and whispered, “I'm just an old fart but you did what was right.”

She felt the tears stinging her eyes and Mulder watched her quickly rub her eyes and mumble, “Something in my eye.”

“Whatever you say, Scully,” he whispered, rubbing her thigh with hand while he held her against him.

“We didn't just disregard him as trash, did we?” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

Mulder hugged her tighter and rocked her slightly. He was unused to seeing Scully this way. “No, we didn't.”

Long ago, when they on the run, somewhere between Flordia and North Carolina, an argument broke out between them. It was one of the few times, aside from the argument that broke out between them when she first left, they argued about William. William was probably about three. That year, they had been on the run for two years. Motel room to motel room, like seeds in the wind. All they had was each other and they were burning out. He did not remember how the argument started...

_“Why don't you just leave then?” she shouted, throwing a pillow on the crappy motel bed. “Just like you left before!”_

“Before what?”

“You left me alone!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. “You left me alone to raise him! You left us alone, like trash!”

“I did to keep you both safe!” he yelled back, feeling the sting of tears hot in his own eyes. “You both are the most precious things to me! I had to protect you the only way I could! Just like you did when you had to give him up, Scully!”

She silenced, crying harder. Mulder came forward and enfolded her in his arms, hushing her quietly. He rocked her as she clung to him for dear life.

She looked up to him and their eyes met. Wordless communication spoke volumes and she smiled at him as he gently brushed away the tears threatening to spill. “We did the right thing at time,” he whispered. “If things had been different, if our lives weren't threatened, things would have been perfect. But we have a second chance...”

“A second chance,” she repeated, nodding. 

A second chance. They had a second chance...they were back on the x-files, they were back together with no intention of leaving, and they had found William. 

Scully smiled sadly as Mulder kissed her. “My one in seven billion,” he whispered.

“What happened to five billion?” she asked.

“Overpopulation,” he teased.

She sighed, feeling the comfortably warmth that would come over her when Mulder would stroke her hands and wrists with his thumbs, the soft reassuring kisses he would occasionally give, letting her know it was going to be all right. Scully sighed and shifted nervously. “Do you think they'll let us?”

“I don't know,” he admitted honestly. “I don't think there's been a precedent for this before.”

“Parents have given up their kids and wanted back in their lives before,” she said absently, her mind drifting to Emily. “It's no unheard of. Usually the parents may want something but we both are federal employees, have a stable home...”

Mulder said nothing as he wondered how there time on the run was reflected on whatever record the judge had access to.

“Agent Scully?” a small, squat woman came out from the judge's chambers. “Agent Mulder?”

The partners stood up in unison and walked into the judge's chambers. As they entered, they saw Will and Ms. Styron sitting on one of the couches in a corner of the room. Scully stiffened but felt Mulder's hand rest on the small of her back. She relaxed slightly and could not take her eyes off her son, and noticed Will was equally enthralled by them as well. Mulder cleared his throat, trying to cut the tension. “Judge Hartwell,” he said offering his hand. “I appreciate you taking the time to...to do this.”

The judge rose and shook Mulder's hand and then shook Scully's hand. “You must understand, I am not used to having outbursts of that sort in my court room. The only reason why I am allowing this is to put these matters to rest. What you are requesting is highly unusual. And unlikely but for the sake of Christmas spirit?”

“It's after Christmas,” Will said stubbornly.

“Mr. Van de Kamp,” the judge said pointedly, looking at Will. “You're enough trouble as it is. Hold your tongue.”

Will grumbled and turned his attention from Scully to Mulder. He titled his head slightly and arched his eyebrow, mimicking Scully perfectly. Mulder forced himself to look back to the judge. The sat across the couch from Will and his case worker. The judge rose from behind his desk and sat in a stand alone chair. “Now, I have looked over the adoption records. Ms. Scully, why did you give him up to begin with?”

Cut right to the chase, Scully thought stubbornly. She shifted uneasily and glanced to Mulder who nodded slightly. “I couldn't keep him safe,” she answered simply. She decided that fewer words were better. 

“From what?”

“How much is in that file,” she asked back.

“Enough,” the judge said cryptically. 

“Then you'll know that at one point my son was kidnapped from me. That was one of many instances,” she replied. She thought it best that Mulder and her keep the bit out about the aliens. “At that time, I withdrew myself from field work and returned to teaching at Quantico.”

“Teaching what?” the judge asked, looking back down at the file.

Scully was getting annoyed with the judge vetting her past and Mulder claimed her hand gently. Will watched his biological parents, fascinated.

“I am a medical doctor,” she began. “I originally was recruited by the FBI to do forensic pathology. I just recently returned to that at the beginning of this year. The past few years I have worked at Our Lady Sorrows hospital where I still volunteer on occasion.”

“Hm.”

“Why all these questions?” Mulder asked.

She turned to look at him, noticing he was in full profiler mode. The judge looked up at Mulder. “And where were you during the all this?”

“With what?”

“The time before Mr. Van de Kamp was given up before adoption. Where were you in all this?”

“I got...I got called away,” he answered carefully. “With work.”

“Hm.” The judge pinched his nose and stared at Will. “Will, your fifteen. What do you want?”

“Like right now?” he asked. “Like I have to make a decision right now?”

“Not right now,” the judge said. “The process is a very long one. But you do have a say in the matter.”

“Can I think about it,” he asked.

The judge shrugged and looked at the FBI agents. “We'll be in contact.”

Will got up with Ms. Styron and exited to judge's chambers followed by Mulder and Scully. “Mulder, what just happened?”

“I think we just past the first test,” he whispered to Scully, watching Will follow his case worker to the opposite. “I am no lawyer but I think he was testing the waters with us to make sure we aren't crazy.”

“Crazy?” she asked, smirking.

“Well, one of us anyway,” he said, meeting her eyes. “The other one has to keep both of us in line. We'll just wait and see...” Mulder said, his hand reclaiming the small of her back. “Let's go home. Skinner is going to kill us if we don't finish the report tomorrow.”

She nodded and looked over her shoulder, watching her son disappear from her one more time and feeling her heart breaking again.

. . . .

Will did not know entirely what to make of the situation. He was still speechless about what had happened in the court room. Now instead of going to the group home, that was on hold. He was going back to his foster parents in D.C. for the time being. What exactly entailed this entire thing. As he walked with his case worker he asked, “Mrs. Styron, what exactly is going to happen?”

“I'm not entirely sure, Will,” she answered, taking him to her car. “Look, you still have your cell phone right?”

“Yeah.” His foster parents were good people and took care of him in the in the simplist things, like giving their teenage charge a cell phone that always worked. “Why?”

“I'll call you in a few days and let you know what's going on,” she sighed. “But in the mean time, let's get you home.”

. . . .

Will skated absently down the sidewalks. He should be in school. Instead he was cutting class. He took the bus towards the National Mall and began to skate the rest of the way to the J. Edgar Hoover building. His stomach was in knots. He could not believe he was doing this. His biological parents were FBI agents, freaking FBI agents. A part of him felt blown away as in it was so freaking cool but he was nervous. His biological mom...a medical doctor and forensic pathologist. His biological father...he learned from Mrs. Styron was an Oxford educated criminal profiler. Seemed like a crazy combination and a far cry from the simple farmers he called mom and dad that raised him in Wyoming.

As he skated, he wondered how his biological parents met and how he came to be. Why did they give him up? Now that he had time to digest what had happened in the court room, he could see that his parents clearly loved him. Then he remembered the judge's chambers and how she had said she gave him up to protect him. Protect him from what?

Will's mind swirled with possibilities as he approached the imposing gray, square building. Maybe it was the mob or some terrorist. He skidded to a stop and picked up his skateboard. It had been gnawing at his mind for days since the courthouse, enough to drive him to skip class and go see for himself.

He picked up his skateboard and jogged up the steps to the guest entrance. He suddenly felt small as the room swarmed with men and women in business suits, completely oblivious to him. Willl looked around, unsure where to even go or even how to do it. Then he spied a woman sitting at a desk, who looked like an ancient dragon. He hesitantly walked up to the desk and held his skateboard to his side tightly.

The old dragon looked up and lowered her glasses. “Yes?”

“Um,” Will began uncertainly. “I'm here to see Agents Scully and Mulder.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Aren't you supposed to be in school?”

Will bit his lower lip, revealing his uncertainty. “Please?”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Um, no.”

“Then I can't help you.”

“Please,” Will suddenly said. “Please, it's really important.”

“Important enough for you to skip school?”

Will didn't say anything but gave the old dragon lady the best, innocent smile he could. She sighed and pointed to a corner to what looked like a waiting section. “Go sit over there.”

. . . .

“What did you bring me,” Scully asked, looking up from her file as Mulder returned to their basement office. He held two cups in his hand.

“Really bad coffee,” he replied, “made to your exact specifications.”

“Hm. Thank you.”

“Find anything interesting?” he asked, passing her the cup of coffee. He sat across from her as he settled into his desk chair. “Any new cases?”

“Nope but there's a report that still needs finishing or else Skinner will be breathing down our necks,” she said, tossing the file across the desk. “But thanks for the coffee.”

He chuckled and then the office phone was ringing. “Mulder,” he greeted, smiling at Scully who was sipping her coffee triumphantly. 

His eyebrows raised and replied. “Thank you. We'll be right up.”

“What was that about, Mulder?”

“Someone is upstairs in the lobby asking for us,” he replied.

“Did they say who,” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No but the old dragon lady upstairs said it was important. Shall we go, Agent Scully?” he asked, holding his arm out.

“Why, Agent Mulder,” she joked. “How chivalrous of you!”  
. . . .

Will was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. What was he thinking? He looked down at his phone. His foster parents were going to kill him, his teachers, and then Mrs. Styron. Damn. 

Across the large lobby, Mulder and Scully walked together, not quite sure what to expect. Mulder instantly went to the old dragon lady and Scully followed, scanning the lobby. “Mulder,” she said, grasping his arm.

He looked up, hearing the shock, surprise, and 'I need you' in her voice. He followed her gaze and felt his breath taken away and he grasped her hands tightly, steadying himself. They saw their son hunched over, clearly nervous and suddenly regretting his decision. He sighed, got up clutching his skateboard, and prepared to leave..

“Not again,” Scully murmured. 

She let go of Mulder and jogged across the tile floor. The sound of running heels echoing through the lobby startled Will and he was equally surprised to see Scully, as he thought she would not come. She stopped in her tracks, tears in her eyes. Mulder jogged behind her and nearly collided with Scully. Will stood up awkwardly and bit his lip. “Um, hi,” he began awkwardly.

Scully brought her hands to her mouth, trying to hide her emotions. The tears were coming fast and she did not care. “Can I?” she whispered.

Will nodded uncertainly, wondering what she was asking. With a shaking hand, Scully touched his cheek gingerly, as if she was checking if he was real. Will smiled uneasily as the tears came faster and nodded again, signaling it was okay. She rushed forward, hugging him, her tears coming faster. Mulder smiled tightly and Will caught his gaze. He held out his hand from Scully's bone crushing hug and Mulder pulled both Scully and his son into a tight hug.

“What are you doing here?” Scully exclaimed, as her and Mulder broke away and cupped her son's face in her hands. “Where is Mrs. Styron?”

“I, um,” he smiled, awkwardly, not sure how to began. “I came here on my own.” He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. “I am kind of skipping school right now. No one knows I am here.”

“That sounds familiar,” Scully mumbled, eyeing Mulder.

He shrugged helplessly. “We should get you back to school, Will.”

“I came to see both of you,” he said. “You're my birth parents right? I want to get to know you. I live in D.C. too. So I am not that far from home. It isn't like I came from Wyoming.”

“Wyoming,” Scully asked.

“That where I am from. My parents...” he paused, unsure how to phrase it. 

“Your parents,” Mulder prompted.

“They died in a car accident Christmas eve when I was thirteen.”

“I'm sorry,” Scully said uncomfortably.

Will shrugged. “I just...I just wanted to get to know you. That's all.”

“Why don't we bow out early for some lunch, Scully,” Mulder suggested, gazing at his son. “We can go to the National Air and Space museum and grab some lunch there.”

Scully nodded and smiled. She did not think it was possible. Will, standing in front of her, Mulder smiling at her. Everything seemed so normal. And right.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a filler chapter. I have an end in mind, just getting there is the challenge. And real life has been taking up everything lately. But thank you for sticking with this so far. And thank you for all the feedback and kudos! I really do appreciate it! :)

Will sat with them in the Wright Place food court in the National Air and Space museum, happily munching on pizza while his birth parents sat across from him. He could not help but squirm a bit under their intense gazes, especially his birth mother's. Mulder, sensing it, apologized. “You have to forgive us, Will. This is...” he paused, searching for the right word.

“Unreal?” he grinned.

Scully smiled as Mulder flashed a tight grin back, identical to his son's. “To say the least,” she affirmed. “How did you find us?”

“It really wasn't that hard,” he shrugged. “You said you are FBI agents. I figured it was just logical to start here in D.C. at the Hoover building”

“Do you live in D.C.?” Mulder asked.

“Uh huh,” Will nodded, sipping his soda. “I go to school here to, which I am currently skipping.”

“You really should be in school,” Scully admonished.

“And miss this? Hell no. I mean...heck no.” He smiled, despite himself. “Sorry, uh...what should I call you? Dr. Scully? Agent Scully?”

“Dana,” she said quickly and she glanced at her partner. “And he hates Fox.”

“Mulder is just fine,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck. 

Will smiled again awkwardly and was just happy that he could not believe this situation. No one could. The energy between the three were palpable. There was so much they wanted to say but where would they began. Scully could not help but feel like she was caught in some sort of dream. A very good and very unreal dream. She sought Mulder's hand under the table and interwove their fingers and hands tightly. Will shifted side to side and looked down at his food. “Skipping...I don't normally do it, well, I used to not to. God, I am rambling. I'm a good student, at least I could if I applied myself. That's what my teachers say.”

Little über Scully, Mulder thought, chuckling slightly. “Well, you do certainly got the smarts to. You get that from her,” he said, nudging Scully. “This one tried to rewrite Einstein in college.”

“Mulder!” Scully admonished, playfully shoving his arm.

Will smiled sadly. “You all really must love each other, don't you?”

Mulder grew quiet and looked at Will, noticing the sad look in his blue eyes. Scully was quiet and looked into her son's eyes, reading him and answering his unasked questions. “I didn't want to, William. I did it to keep you safe.”

The pink elephant in the room. Will felt himself trying to breathe as the approached the sore subject. From the outside, he saw his birth parents as a dedicated, loving couple to each other. How did he fit into this picture? He felt like an outsider.

Mulder spoke softly. “You were our miracle, Will. Never doubt that.”

“How?” he asked, straightening. “You gave me up. Why did you give me up?”

Scully was quiet and lowered her eyes, focusing on her and Mulder's joined hands. “I couldn't conceive,” she began, ignoring the part about abductions, aliens, and government conspiracies. “We tried IVF...”

“Intro Vitro Fertlization,” Will said. “I know what that is. Science is my best subject. I really want to take anatomy when I'm a senior.”

Scully smiled slightly. “Nothing took and then one day...” She had tears in her eyes. The memories were flooding back and she felt the pains, again and again...losing Mulder, facing her pregnancy alone, finding him dead. She closed her eyes. He came back though. Mulder came back. He always did. “Things were complicated.”

“Complicated,” Will repeated, leaning back. He arched his eyebrow and Mulder inwardly groaned; so Scully-like. “There's more to the story, isn't there.”

Mulder was quiet. How would he explain to this fifteen year old his family history...aliens, government conspiracies, abductions? And then what Scully had confided in him when they were on the run...William wasn't normal. He could do things. Extraordinary things. “There is,” Mulder said tightly, sensing Scully compose herself. “But today is not the day to discuss it. We never stopped thinking about you, Will. We want to know about you. Do you like baseball at least? You're already too much like your mother...” Mulder stopped himself but Will smiled slightly. “I'm sorry.”

“No. It's okay. I always thought I was a little weird,” he began.

Scully looked sharply at him. Her breath caught when she remembered seeing the the play mobile move by itself above his crab. Jeffery Spender's warnings. She was almost afraid to ask. “How so?”

He shrugged and smiled goofily. “I like science and books and science fiction. I'm a nerd. In Wyoming, I was always bookish. Mom used to tell me to get my nose out of books and get to work. When I was four, I saw Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard is the best.”

Mulder felt himself smile slightly. “No, Kirk was.”

“You're so old,” Will chuckled. 

Mulder frowned and looked to Scully for defense but saw her smiling easily, the tension and emotions almost completely gone. He let it slide. “Whatever. Kirk was better.”

“Anyways,” Will continued with a smile. “I am a good student. Well, I used to be. Since coming here...my grades dropped. Mrs. Styron stays I just need to apply myself but I just don't care. With everything that's happened, I just stopped caring. When I got here, I started hanging out with those kids.”

“The ones I saw you at with at the hospital,” Scully wondered.

Will smiled and nodded towards his skateboard. “I'm not bad. I started to skateboard because they all did it. It became a good outlet with me...with everything. But I'm really sorry, Dana. About that night. I really wasn't expecting you to be able to run in heels.”

Scully chuckled. “Will, don't worry about it. Look what came from it.” She gestured between the three of them.” 

Mulder looked towards Scully and back towards Will. “So, you like baseball?”

Will grinned slightly. “I actually wanted to tryout when I got to high school. I played pick up games, you know. I saw the Colorado Rockies play on TV, once at the stadium as a part of a field trip. It was so cool. But since coming to Washington, I haven't been the best student and trying to fit in...” He shrugged. “I like it. It would be cool to go to real game with the Yankees or something, even though they are overrated.”

“Overrated,” exclaimed Mulder. “How can they be overrated?”

“They just are!” Will defended, finding himself smiling.

Will loved science, books, science fiction, and baseball. He was smart and a loner. He had Scully's blue eyes and that damn eyebrow arch and Mulder's grin and lankiness. He was their son. There was no doubt about that. The three felt the air change. Something was different. There was a happiness and just...no one could describe it. Scully hated to pull herself from this moment, as did Mulder. Will checked his cell phone and grimaced. “Shit.”

“What?” Mulder asked.

He held up his phone, revealing a text from his case worker. “What's wrong,” Scully asked.

Will sighed and turned off his phone. “She found out I skipped school today. I'm in so much trouble, especially if she finds out I saw you all. I remember her saying something that I'm not supposed to have contact or something until the court deems it. But I wanted to...I wanted to meet my real parents. I had to know.”

Mulder looked at Scully, a silent conversation emerging between them. “We'll bring you home,” Scully said. “It's the least we can do.”

Mulder drew out one of is FBI business cards from his suit pocket. He scribbled something on the back of it. Scully glanced at what Mulder had wrote and wrote something else on the business card. Mulder gave Will both cards. “We've always been something of outcasts,” Mulder chuckled, “and for breaking the rules, it's a family trait. Here are our personal numbers, Will, if you ever wanna talk.”

“So, anything? Were you serious about what you said in the courtroom, Dana? About wanting to adopt me back?”

Scully nodded slightly, unable to find her voice again. “More than anything. I never forgave myself for what I did.”

Will gazed at her and he nodded after a moment. “I'm not mad.” He shrugged and looked down at his food. He pushed it around. “I lost my parents Christmas eve when I was thirteen. I move out here, away from everything I know to some great aunt that I have never met before. She dies within six months. I get thrown into foster care because there is no one else.” He was silent for a moment and Scully shifted uncomfortably, wondering where this was going. “But Christmas eve, I decided to try and take a doctor's purse on a dare. Not my brightest move and good knows how much trouble I am in. But you know what? I find my birth parents. Things happen for a reason, even if they don't seem clear, is how I figure it.” He shrugged. “As much as I miss mom and dad, maybe if it wasn't for their deaths, we would've have never found each other.”

Scully smiled sadly and Mulder smiled as well. She said, “You are too smart, you know that, Will.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Maybe we can go to a baseball game or something.”

“We'd like that, Will.” Mulder looked at his watch. “Let's get going. We can get you home at a decent time. And Will, this is between us right?”

“Yeah. Let me shoot you a text before we go, so you have my number as well.”

Scully drew out her business card and a pen and pushed it towards him. Will looked at the business card thoughtfully and then Mulder's. “Can I keep these?”

She let herself nod, finding the gesture odd and then pushed another business card towards him. He hastily wrote his phone number and gave it back to Mulder and Scully. She took it almost reverently, another link connecting them to their son. Will gathered up his bookbag and skateboard and she unconsciously touched his shoulder, guiding him through the crowd. Before she realized what she was doing, she withdrew her hand as if he had burned her. Will looked at her and nodded slightly with a smile, signaling it was okay. Mulder, walking just behind her, touched the small of her back without thinking and guided her through the crowds.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second meetings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. We're getting to the end soon. I hope. Anyways, feedback much appreciated!
> 
> Disclaimer: Don't own anything, merely borrowing.

In the apartment in Washington D.C., Mulder rolled onto his back, restless and unable to sleep. Scully, who was spooned against his side, followed, groaned and tightened her arms around him in protest. She placed a kissed on his bare chest and lifted her head slightly. “Why aren't you sleeping?” he mumbled softly. His free hand began to run and curl the long red tresses of her hair through his fingers. “You're tense.”

 

“Well, you did just wake me up,” she mumbled. She groaned sleepily. “What's wrong?”

 

“Sorry. Just thinking.”

 

Scully sighed and hugged him tighter. “I'll forgive you just this once. I just can't get over today,” she confessed. She traced lazy patterns on his chest, knowing silently that was what he was thinking of. “He reminds me so much of you.”

 

The events from the afternoon replied in her mind and then she let her thoughts drift back to the beginning since this entire thing had started. Who would have thought that the would be teenage hooligan would be their long lost son. Mulder would could only picture his son as the newborn he had first held before going on the run. Now he could picture Will with more clarity. He had Scully's eyes. If anything he was reminded more of Scully than himself in their son. “How so?” he asked softly.

 

She felt his wandering hand tracing her arm and snaking up underneath the worn Knick's t-shirt she was wearing. She sighed contently and chuckled. “I see you approve of my evening wear,” he whispered.

 

“Nothing more sexy than you in one of my old Knicks shirts,” he whispered, kissing her brow.

 

“What are you thinking, Mulder,” she sighed sleepily, closing her eyes again. “We can only get so much done in the present moment.”

“We should hire a lawyer,” he continued absently. “Cover our basis. And bring Skinner in on it too. I still have money saved from when we were on the run. We can get the best. If Will comes...”

 

“Mulder.”

 

“If Will comes to live with us...”

 

“ _Mulder_.”

 

“...changes things.”

 

“Mulder,” she repeated, emphasizing his name. She sleepily cupped his cheek. His hazel eyes focused instantly on her bleary blue eyes. She smiled. “Things have already changed. Go to sleep. We'll deal with it later.”

 

Mulder licked his lips, sensing the change in Scully. Of course, she was tired. But she was happier, more content. The death of her mother had wrecked her. She had withdrawn from everyone and everything but him. She tried to turn to work. He found her volunteering more at the hospital again, throwing herself into their FBI work, more so than before. Half the time when he would come home to their shared Washington D.C. apartment or the unremarkable house to find it empty because she was still at work. But now, she was different, like by losing her mother, she found another piece to hold onto when Will reappeared into their lives. She snuggled into his chest and let out a content sigh. Mulder adjusted his embrace and closed his eyes.

 

“For the record,” he breathed, “he is more like you than me.”

 

. . . .

 

Will sat in the office of his social worker, Mrs. Styron, fidgeting and staring at the clock. He sighed and forced himself to sit under his hands because his fidgeting would only grow worse. So he started bouncing his legs. She would only bring him to her office if something was seriously wrong, or if he was in serious trouble. He closed his eyes, singing just softly enough so he could hear, “William was a bullfrog...”

 

“Mr. Van de Kamp,” Mrs. Styron stormed through her office door.

 

He jumped in surprise. “Mrs. Styron,” he greeted in return, keeping his eyes focused on the ground.

 

He heard the door close, her dropping her bag, and sitting in her chair again. “William, look at me. Do you know why you are here?”

 

Will looked up and shook his head slowly. It could be any number of reasons, but the most prominent thing on his mind was that he had skipped school to meet his birth parents. And he had loved every moment of it, however, he was on a short leash. He could not afford to get caught. He did not want to be thrown into juvey. “I could guess but I don't think it is a good thing.”

 

“Depends on how you look at it, William. After our meeting between the judge and the FBI agents. I pulled you adoption.”

 

“I was a closed adoption,” he said, looking up. He had asked his parents when he was ten why he didn't look like them, and they told him finally that he had come to them through an adoption. When he inquired about this birth parents, they could not tell anything. “How did you find my papers?”

 

“Records still had to be kept,” Mrs. Stryon said, clicking a pen absently. She was glancing at the file. “Have you given any thought to what the judge has said?”

 

“About staying out of trouble?”

 

“About what you want? These FBI agents claiming to be your birth parents, wanting to adopt you, as far fetched as it is.”

 

“They are my birth parents,” he defended. “I just know.”

 

Mrs. Styron looked up, narrowing her eyes. “Be that as it may, proof is what the court needs. I found your original birth certificate.”

 

“Can I see it?”

 

She passed him the Georgia birth certificate and he traced the name gently: _William Mulder Scully_. “That's my real name? My birth name?” he asked himself. He traced the names listed for father and mother: _Fox William Mulder_ and _Dana Katherine Scully_.  “Can I have a copy of this?”

 

“I'll make you one,” she said. She drummed the pen on the desk. “Why did you skip school the other day, William?”

 

He shrugged, averting his gaze.

 

“You went to see them, didn't you?”

 

He remained silent.

 

“Will, you aren't supposed to have any contact with them unless until this matter is resolved.”

 

“I didn't,” he lied, looking up. He put on his best truth telling face. “I just needed to clear my head. It's just...a lot to take in.”

 

“Hmph,” she huffed. “Well, so far, everything that Agent Scully is claiming is true, or appears to be.”

 

“I have made a decision though,” he said quietly. “I want to go live with them.”

 

“Will,” she began.

 

“Even if, by some odd chance they end up not being my birth parents, they want to adopt me.”

 

“They only want to adopt you because they believe you are their son.”

 

“You don't know that.”

 

“You don't know that either.”

 

Will huffed and closed his eyes. “You're wrong.”

 

“We'll see, Will.”

 

. . . .

 

“Well, this comes quite as a surprise,” Skinner said, leaning back into his chair. “Are you sure, Scully?”

 

Her and Mulder sat across Skinner's desk in their regular seats. “Yes, I'm positive,” she nodded. She glanced at Mulder and then back to their boss. “However, our _situation_ is peculiar and we may need help if needed.”

 

“Of course,” Skinner said softly. He remembered the few times he had met Mulder's and Scully's son when he was a baby, right before she gave him up. He could only imagine what he looked like now. “I'll help in any way I can. I actually have a good lawyer I can recommend for you, an old Vietnam buddy of mine. But tell me, who is he more like?”

 

Mulder smiled. “He certainly has my tendency for breaking the rules, but he's more like Scully.”

 

Scully smiled indulgently and lowered her gaze. Skinner glanced at her. “It's good to see you smiling again, Dana,” he said softly.

 

“Thank you, sir.”

 

Their conversation abruptly stopped when Mulder's cell phone started ringing. Scully raised her eyebrow questioningly and Mulder frowned, seeing Will's name in the caller ID. “It's Will.”

 

“Hello?”

 

“Mulder, hey, um, can you talk? I tried calling Dana but it went to voicemail.”

 

“Is everything okay?” Scully asked hurriedly.  She reached for Mulder's phone with complete disregard. “Will?”

 

“Oh, hey,” he began awkwardly. “I tried calling you.”

 

“I left my phone in the office. Is everything okay?”

 

Mulder watched Scully's face and gently took her free hand. Skinner watched amused to see Scully in full mother mood. It had been too long.

 

“Um, yeah. I'm actually at school right now during lunch. I...I met with Mrs. Styron the other day. And I wanted to talk to you and Mulder. Don't worry, she doesn't know about the other day. I did get in trouble for skipping though. It was worth it. I was wondering, could we talk in person again? But I have to be careful, I'm not supposed to have contact with you guys.”

 

She looked at Mulder and mouthed, 'Are we free tonight?' He nodded, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. “Will, do you have something to write with. I'm going to give you address and you can come there.”

 

“Okay. I really don't like this cloak and dagger routine.”

 

She kept herself from chuckling. “You'd be surprised. It runs in the family.” She recited their Washington D.C. apartment address. Mulder's eyebrows rose. “You got that, Will?”

 

“Yeah. I can come around eight if that is okay? Should I wear a disguise and dark glasses?” he joked.

 

“No. Eight sounds fine. See you then.”

 

“Yep. Bye, Dana.”

 

She hung up and looked to an expectant Mulder. “I take it we have company tonight?”

 

“Was that Will, Scully?” Skinner asked.

 

“Yes,” she nodded. “He wants to talk.”

 

“We'll I guess we'll be cooking dinner tonight,” he said.

 

Skinner pursed his lips. “I'll make a call to my buddy and set up a meeting for you all. Do you have a court date set?”

 

“We're supposed to meet with the judge in three weeks. I think he is vetting us,” Mulder replied.

 

Skinner nodded. “You know, having your son back, things will change.”

 

“We know,” Scully replied softly. “But we can make it work. We survived harder things.”

 

Skinner was silent and nodded after. “That you have.”

 

. . . .

 

Will stepped off the bus and found himself in a posh Georgetown neighborhood. Adjusting his backpack, he looked at the piece of paper he had scribbled the address on it, then to the street name. Did he write it down correctly? He was second guessing coming here, to see them. The conversation he had with case worker unnerved him and was making him second guess his decisions. But he needed to know.

 

He walked down the streets until he came to right numbered building. He climbed the stairs and pulled open the door. He took the stairs to the second floor and came to the apartment 2D. He raised his knuckles and knocked lightly on the wooden door twice. He could hear classic rock coming from the other side and someone tripping. It was Scully who opened the door, smiling nervously. “Will! Hi,” she said softly.

 

He took a second to look at his birth mother, who was dressed in a grey sweater, jeans, and was barefoot. She was so short when she wasn't wearing heels. “Um, hey,” he said awkwardly. He did not know what to do or what would be considered acceptable, so, he settled for an awkward one arm hug. “Did I interrupt something?”

 

“No! Come in,” Mulder called from the kitchen. “Are you hungry at all?”

 

“Were you all about to eat dinner?”

 

“Well,” Scully began tentatively, “we were hoping you'd be hungry. You know, unless you ate something already then it's okay.”

 

“You cooked dinner for me?” he asked, a little taken aback.

 

“Of course,” Scully answered. “Why, is there something wrong?”

 

“No, it's just,” Will paused. “You all barely know me.”

 

Mulder popped his head from the kitchen. “Do you like chicken?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. He looked to Scully. “You just met me.”

 

She shrugged and gave a small smile. “I just know, Will.”

 

Will took off his shoes respectfully and dropped his bag by the door. “So, what, you all live here?”

 

“Only during the week,” Mulder said, bringing in a large plate of chicken smothered in barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheese. “We have another home out in Loudon we go to on the weekends.”

 

“Is it a big place?” Will asked curiously.

 

“Small house, ten acres, miles from nowhere,” answered Scully.

 

“Sounds like Wyoming,” he said fondly. He could not help but let himself smile. “So, you all live together, like a couple?”

 

“Yep,” Mulder replied, carrying the salad and scalloped potatos. “What do you want to drink, Will?”

 

“Um, milk if you have it,” he answered. His eyes did not leave the table. He was not expecting this. He saw three place settings. “I'm sorry if I messed up anything.”

 

Scully stopped and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Don't ever think that, Will. You are never a burden.”

 

He smiled slightly and bowed his head. “Thank you. For this.”

 

“Come on, let's sit. Mulder, do you have the drinks?”

 

“Got 'em, Scully!”

 

Scully could not believe that they were doing this. They were sitting down to dinner, mother, father, and child. How much she had imagined this. She did not want to admit family, lest get her hopes up. Besides, they had just met each other. She said across from Mulder and Will sat between them. The silence was awkward. Mulder motioned to Will. “Dig in, Will.”

 

Will bit his lips and smiled. It was nice to feel like he belonged again. “Thanks.”

 

He piled his plate high with food and Mulder and Scully soon followed suit. “So,” Mulder began, “what's going on?”

 

Will stopped midway from shoveling food into his mouth. His blue eyes went from Mulder to Scully and then back to Mulder. “How do you know I am your son?” Will said. “Mrs. Styron still doesn't believe you.”

 

Scully sighed and brought a hand to her face. Right to the point. They both did that. “Well,” she said, taking a deep breath. “We just know.”

 

“Meaning we dug into your file,” Mulder said slowly. “We found a picture. It matches the ones we have of you. And you look like both of us...”

 

Scully bit her lips and slowly sang, softly, almost in a whisper. “William was a bullfrog, a good friend of mind. Joy to fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.”

 

Will snapped his head at Scully. “That's your voice. That's your voice in my memories,” he breathed. “You used to sing me that, right?” She nodded slowly, tears coming to her eyes. “That's you. You're my mom.” And he looked to Mulder. “And your my dad, my real dad.”

 

Scully could not help herself as she got up and swallowed Will in a tight hug. Will hugged his birth mother tightly around her waist from his seat. Scully looked up, begging Mulder wordless to join them. Soon, Will felt his birth father surround him and Scully.  And for the first time ever, Will actually felt like he was truly home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Own nothing, merely borrowing.
> 
> Sorry this took so long. Things are finally starting to settle down and I finally have some free time until grad school starts at the end of August.

Instead of having Will take the bus back to his foster home on the other end of Washington D.C. In Lincoln Heights, Scully quietly volunteered herself to drive him back. Mulder said nothing but merely smiled, placed a kiss on her cheek, and gave Will a bear hug. “Don't be a stranger,” he whispered to his son. “Call us if you need anything at all. We'll see you next Monday, okay?”

“Monday,” Will looked up. “Oh shit, Monday.” He frowned, suddenly embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“I've heard worse things,” she said softly, pulling on her jacket. She looked at Mulder fondly. “We'll be back in a bit.”

Mulder knew she was not a big fan of public displays of affection, even after twenty years. He placed one more kiss on her cheek and lingered. “Don't rush,” he whispered.

She gave him a soft smile and grabbed her car keys. “You ready, Will?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, casting a long, forlorn gaze one last time about the apartment. “Yeah. I'm ready.”

Scully caught Mulder's lingering gaze as she shut the door behind them. Will had grown silent suddenly. “This isn't the last time, Will,” she said softly.

“How do you know?” he asked suddenly, looking up at her. “How do you know the courts won't say no and I would have gotten taken away?”

Will was already slightly taller than her and she still could not shake how much Will was the perfect blend of her and Mulder's genetics. The passion in his mirror blue eyes were all Mulder's. She felt herself unconsciously shiver. How did she know? She did not, in the scientific sense anyways. She just...knew. She gave a small reassuring small to him, gently fixing an imaginary piece of lint on his jacket. “Come on, Will.”

He shook his head. “You're lucky tonight isn't a school night,” he said softly. He looked wistfully at Scully. “Can we go to mall first?”

“Don't your foster parents have a curfew for you?”

“I live in a townhouse with three other kids. As long as I behave, with the exception of Christmas,” he paused seeing her smile. “I'm pretty much left alone. Tonight is Friday. They probably think I'm skating or something.”

She nodded after a moment. “We can go to the mall. Let me just stop for gas first.”

. . . .

In silence, they walked around the reflecting pool on the National Mall. Will was quiet, keeping his gaze focused on the water. Scully walked quietly beside him, unsure of how to break the silence. She glanced at the Washington Monument and then to various points around the mall, memories dancing in her mind of the countless places her and Mulder used to spend together from their original time on the X-Files. Her gazed shifted to Will and allowed herself to indulge in the idea of the coming summer and him living with them in between D.C. and in the country. The idea seemed fleeting and wistful the possibility was within grasp of becoming reality.

“You know, I’ve never actually been here before,” Will began, shifting his gaze from the reflecting pool to Scully. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

“It’s one of my favorite places to just come and think,” Scully confessed. “Your fat--Mulder and I would come here all the time when we were first with the Bureau.”

Will said nothing as he noticed that she almost called Mulder his father. “And for secret middle of the night meetings?” he teased.

“In the beginning.” She smirked. “So, you’re an average student with average grades who likes science and all that jazz. How did you get in skateboarding?”

“Ah,” Will smiled, looking down at his feet as they walked. “Not until I got here, to D.C. Back in Wyoming, it wasn’t exactly the thing people did. I grew up in a small town where everybody knows everybody and nobody locked their doors. I believe you might be familiar with Podunk, USA?”

She laughed and nodded, thinking of the early cases her and Mulder took. So her son had grown up in a safe place, a very normal life, albeit, what had probably been a very boring one. Boring. Boring was good and safe. “Very familiar along with every generic dinner that serves burgers and fries and seedy motels.”

“From when you were first with the Bureau? But with you slicing and dicing dead people, I wouldn’t think you would have done a lot of traveling. Mulder, maybe, as a profiler.”

“We were partners, the first time,” she began slowly, unsure of where to began and if she should be telling him this. “I was 29 and assigned to him to debunk his work as a scientist in 1993. Originally, I was a teacher at Quantico.”

Will paused mid step and looked at his birth mother. “What do you mean ‘debunk’ his work?”

She smiled and pushed an errant strand of red hair behind her ear. She looked at Will’s messy own hair, how his ears were turning red in the cold. Her smile faded slightly as she considered her next options carefully. She was a bit chilled herself and hesitated considering her next words. “We can grab a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you more.”

“I don’t drink coffee,” he said, “it upsets my stomach. I tend to stick to energy drinks.”

“Well, Starbucks. They sell hot chocolate or something. You know those things are bad for you.”

“So says my mom the doctor,” Will retorted, not realizing he said until after he said it. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Scully felt her heart pounding at the mere fact that he had referred to her as mom. It was the same passion, love, and exhilaration she imagined if he had spoken ‘mom’ as a baby for the first time. She rubbed his shoulder automatically. “No. It’s okay. It’s really okay, Will. You’re fine. We’re fine.”

He released a breath he had been holding unconsciously and looked at her hand resting on his shoulder. She pulled her hand back as if he burned her. He grasped her hand gently. “Like you said, it’s okay. I really want to hear everything.”

Scully nodded and cleared her throat. “I don’t know if it is a good idea to do it without Mulder,” she hesitated. “It’s all of our story.”

He nodded, sensing it was something bigger than what he had originally imagined. He looked to the ground, kicking the pebbles. “Does it involve why you gave me up?” He lifted his head. “I can see it in your eyes. It killed you, didn’t it?”

Scully bit her lip, always having imagined how this conversation would have gone. She almost imagined him angry, furious at her. There would have been screaming. But he looked so...understanding. As if he could sense her guilt and sadness. “Nearly did,” she admitted after a long moment. She took a deep breath. “It nearly destroyed me, just like it did when I lost Mulder right after I found out I was pregnant with you. All I had was you.” She choose her words carefully. “And we tried for so long that when you came, you were a miracle, Will. Our miracle. And for eleven months, you were my baby boy. You still are, of course…” Scully found her words failing her. “I’m sorry, William. I’m sorry I was such a horrible mother and I couldn’t protect my own child.” She looked up. “Do you want to see my old apartment? Where I first raised you?”

Will found it touching how hard she was trying to connect with him, even though he saw the hesitation when he continued to prodd his birth parents’ past and his role in it. What were they hiding? Maybe they were deep undercover when they were first with the FBI and it was a painful past or something like that. He could see her hesitation. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…” Scully sighed in defeat as her eyes watered. “I wanted so much to give you a good life, to make sure you were protected. I wanted to give you all the things I couldn’t give you. And giving you up was the only way.”

It felt like a confession. He saw her shoulders sag under the large winter coat, like the truth was weighing her down like an albatross around her neck. “Mom,” he began, taking her hands. “It’s okay. I forgive you. I know why now. It’s okay.”

Scully did not know what had come over her. She cried and tears trailed down her pale, cold cheeks. Will wiped a tear away his thumb and hugged his birth mother. “I’m so sorry, William.”

“It’s okay.” He pulled back. “I’m going to come live with you and Mulder, right? We just have to do this court thing. Come spring, maybe we can go to a baseball game or something, as a family.”

“Only your father likes baseball,” she sniffed, forcing a smile. “I only tolerate it.”

“Well, you can make sure we don’t get stupid,” he rambled, wanting to make her feel better. “I’m coming home, don’t worry.”

“It’s supposed to be the other way around,” she said, taking a calming breath. “I’m supposed to be comforting you.”

“What can I say? I got good genes.” He smiled and her small smile got wider. His phone notification sounded and he frowned. “Shit. Sorry…” Will look up, forcing an embarrassed smile. “I have to get home. That’s my foster mom. Apparently, Ms. Styron is coming by tomorrow.”

“On a Saturday?” Scully arched an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Maybe with the court date getting closer. Can you drop me off?”

“Of course,” she said. She felt a little lighter. The weight she had carried in her heart for the past fifteen years was getting a little lighter by the second. She hesitated before putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him back to the car. “Thank you, by the way, Will.”

“For what?”

“Everything,” she answered, smiling. “Let’s get you back before you turn into a pumpkin.” Will rolled his eyes are his birth mother’s lame humor. “What? You’ll learn to love it.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adoption competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still own none of it.
> 
> Sorry it took so long. And sorry for the typos. I pretty much wrote this in a few hours with a bout of insomnia. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Mulder was still up by the time Scully finally got home. Dressed in a loose pair to sleeping pants and a tee shirt, he sat on the couch, endlessly channeling surfing, not really paying attention except to try and catch her footsteps outside of the door. When he finally heard the familiar gait of his Scully, he got up and opened the door before she could, startling her in the process. “Mulder! You scared me!” She pressed a hand to her heart. “A little warning next time!”

“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish smile. He kissed her soundly, running his hands up and down her back. “Hm. Something’s different.” He sniffed her hair playfully. “Did you wash your hair for once?”

“Mulder!” Scully chuckled. She reached up behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Shut up!”

He hugged her tightly, glad to see her lighter and happier than she had been in a long time. “How did it go with Will?”

Scully smiled and nodded, thinking back to her conversation with her son. “Wonderful, Mulder, it could not have gone better.”

“That’s wonderful, Scully.” He took her jacket. “By the way, I got a phone call while you were out. Our lawyer wants to meet with us Saturday afternoon. Kind of a background check/get to know us type of deal.”

“For what reason?”

“Well, to establish that he really is ours, a DNA test. And then to make sure we’re fit to raise a fifteen year old. Now that we’re FBI agents again…”

“I know. Don’t ruin my good mood right now,” she replied waving her hand. “It’s midnight. We don’t have to be into the office tomorrow, I don’t have anything going on the hospital, let’s sleep in.”

Mulder nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.” He kissed her temple soothingly. “Let’s go to bed, Scully.”

. . . .

Will had gotten home on time, avoiding the questioning eyes of his foster parents. He went straight to bed, keeping to himself. He rolled onto his back and looked up into the dark ceiling. He was fortunate enough to have a room to himself. While his foster parents’ had a good amount of rooms in their townhouse, he knew of other places where kids had to double up in rooms. But this room did not feel like his. It felt like it was some cookie cutter design, some staged fashion shoot for a magazine or something.

He closed his eyes, thinking of his birth mother, his birth father. Were they his real parents? Really truly his real parents?

It seemed almost impossible that something like this could happen. He rested his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, thinking of the hopeful future that was to happen.

. . . .

Saturday morning. Mrs. Styron detested house calls. She was much too old for this. But William Van De Kamp was a peculiar case. Nothing that she had seen before. But she had a job to do. The sooner she could find William a home, the better. She knocked at the door of the old Washington townhome. The foster mother, Judy Gardner, was the one who opened it. 

She was a stout woman, gray in her brown hair, glasses, slightly overweight. Her husband, George, was a post office worker who did his best to provide for his wife and any of the rotating foster kids that came through their residence. They were a blessing, taking on three kids at any given time. But they were getting older, no longer able to keep up with the kids. 

“Ah, Mrs. Styron!” Mrs. Gardner greeted. “What a surprise to see you! What can I do for you? A surprise inspection?”

“No, it concerns William actually. May I come in?”

“Of course. Shall I get him?”

“I’m already here.”

Mrs. Styron turned to find Will dressed in loose jeans and a black band tee shirt watching her wearily. He leaned against the railing. “Ms. Gardner,” he greeted softly.

“Will, honey, call me Judy! What’s this about, Will?” the foster mother greeted.

“I still haven’t changed my mind,” Will said, taking his last step off the staircase. “I want to go live with my real parents.”

“You’re real parents?” Judy Gardner looked to Mrs. Styron. “What is this about?”

. . . .

Mulder rolled over onto his stomach and felt a light weight distribute across his bare back. He smiled to himself as Scully hugged him tightly and began to softly kiss his neck. “Hm, Scully. It isn’t even sunrise yet.”

“Maybe I want to start early. I brought coffee,” she mumbled by his ear.

“I thought the whole point of this was to sleep later or has your libido have other ideas?”

Scully rolled off his back and smiled lazily at him. “I also have the newspaper.”

“So we can do the Saturday morning crossword together?”

“Uh huh.”  
He smiled sleepily and rolled onto his back as Scully curled into his side, turning on the TV to the local morning news. He kissed her red locks and sat both of them up so he could still hold her and drink the coffee she had made safely. “You know, Scully, with Will coming, we have to be more careful.”

“Careful for what?” She looked up at mischievously. He chuckled when he saw the sparkle in her eyes. “I know, I know. Everything will be changing. We’ll be parents...I mean, we’ve missed so much.”

“But we still have so much to look forward to, Scully,” Mulder said.

Scully was quiet for a moment, running her hand slowly back and forth across Mulder’s abdomen before she spoke. “We will have to eventually tell him the truth.”

She felt him tense, his arm tightening around her in silent agreement. “We will, when the time is right.”

“And when will the right time be?”

“We’ll know, Scully. We’ll just know.” 

Scully pressed a kiss to his side before settling next to him as they watched the local news and enjoyed one of the few moments of simplicity for them.

. . . .

Will watched the adults talk quietly among their morning coffee. He hated when they would treat him like this, a child who wasn’t capable of making his own decisions. He watched his case worker explain the entire situation, from the start to his foster mother from stealing the woman's purse to the weird confrontation in the courtroom and now to the ridiculous petition from these two strangers claiming to be Will’s birth parents. All during the conversation, Judy Gardner kept grasping her shirt collar and looking over at Will. It made him feel uneasy. Finally, Mrs. Styron turned her attention to William.

“Will, next week we will be meeting with the judge. If this what you want, then you have to tell me now.”

“What was the purpose of you coming then?” Will asked, annoyed. “I told you last time I want to go live with my real parents. Did the DNA tests come back?”

The social worker nodded slightly. “One hundred percent,” she muttered.

“So they are my real parents,” he exclaimed clapping his hands. He pointed at Mrs. Styron. “I told you so! I knew it!”

“Will, it isn’t that easy,” Mrs. Styron said. “While they may be your birth parents, your birth mother gave you up for adoption. The records clearly show that and that does not go in their favor. And there’s another matter.”

“What matter?” Will asked hesitantly.

“Well, William,” Judy spoke up, “George and I have grown quite fond of you and we realize that you moving around has put quite a strain on you.”

“What’s your point,” Will asked suspiciously.

“Well, William, George and I would like to adopt you, make this situation permanent. Wouldn’t you like that, honey? A home to finally call your own?”

“When were you going tell me this?”

“We were looking for the right time…”

“And this was it??”

“WILLIAM!” Mrs. Stryon snapped. 

“No. I don’t have time for this. None of you want what’s best for me. I want to be with my real parents,” Will snapped angrily. He ran back upstairs and slammed the door behind him.

“Well,” Mrs. Gardner began drily. “That went well.”

Mrs. Styron licked her lips and looked at the foster mother. “Well, this is certainly is an unusual case. I still have yet to receive the full background checks of these FBI agents but the DNA tests don’t lie. In any case, I represent what is best for Will. Given the circumstances though, I do think your petition to the court will be looked upon more favorably. I’ll be by next Monday to pick him up. I suggest you get a lawyer in the meantime.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Styron.”

. . . .

Mulder held the door of the SUV open for Scully as she exited their car. AD Skinner’s old war buddy was apparently one of the best lawyers in the city. She glanced at her jeans, boots, and loose blouse worn under a black pea coat. Mulder was dressed in jeans and an old army jacket, wearing shades, (what she had dubbed the handsome hobo look). “I wonder if we underdressed,” Mulder teased.

“For a Saturday afternoon, I think we’re fine.”

The partners went inside the law office to see a short, well-built man with gray hairs everywhere, even his nose. “Agents Mulder and Scully?” the old man asked.

“Yes,” Scully answered, holding out her hand. “Hal Brickman I presume?”

“Hal,” the old man smiled. “And yes, Agent Scully. I’m the Skinman’s infamous buddy from back in Vietnam. I specialize in family law.”

“Thank you for taking this case on,” Mulder said, shaking the man’s hand. “We really appreicate it.”

“Well, I enjoy the challenge. When Walt told me about your situation, I couldn’t resist a challenge. Besides, I owe him. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Soda?”

“Water,” Scully smiled politely. 

Hal motioned to two large chairs and a couch as he got them refreshments. “So, the DNA tests came back positive,” Hal began, “but I suspect you aren’t surprised by that.”

Mulder shook his head politely no. Scully sat next to him on the large couch. “Usually this is an open and shut case. The biological parents get automatic custody. Plain and simple. But you, Agent Scully, gave up William when he was eleven months. Why? And where were you during all this, Agent Mulder?”

Scully shifted uncomfortably. Mulder took Scully’s hand and answered for them. “Our work with the x-files made us a lot of enemies,” he began softly. “We both shed our pounds of blood and tears. But there were...people who sought William.” He chose his words carefully. “We did what we thought was best. I left less than 72 hours of his birth.”

“I stepped back from the x-files and went back to teaching at Quantico. Mulder and I kept in contact. At first, we thought they were after him, and then it became clear they wanted William, and I...I couldn’t protect my son. So I gave him up. I gave him a chance of a normal life, to be safe.”

“What any parent would want,” Hal nodded. He picked up a thick file with an FBI symbol emblazoned on it. Mulder shifted uncomfortably. “You were arrested, Agent Mulder, for murder. And you and Agent Scully went on the run. Why?”

“Who would have believed me?” Mulder shrugged. He hated this part of the past. “Scully was all I had left.”

“You could have stayed and had a normal life, Agent Scully,” the lawyer said carefully. He brought a pen to his lips. “Why?”

“I lost my son. How could I lose the only other family that I had left?” she whispered. Tears were in her eyes. “Have you ever been in love, Mr. Brickman? To the point, you would do anything for that person?”

Mr. Brickman smiled. Walter had been right. The love between these two strangers was palpable. He could feel it in the air. Even then, there was a strange chemistry between them. “I have questions about the quality of your characters, Agents Mulder and Scully, or the love you have for your son. The problem is proving you want your son back, especially after you gave him up as a child, Agent Scully.”

“Doesn’t sound easy,” Mulder mused.

“Well, lucky for you, I love challenges.” Hal smiled as his phone went off. He opened the smartphone and frowned. “It’s my secretary. Well, looks like things have gotten more complicated.” 

“What?” Scully asked, leaning forward. “What’s wrong?”

“It looks like we’ve got competition. Will’s fosters parents just filed a petition with the courts for permanent custody as well.”

Scully’s heart sank as Mulder wrapped his arm around her as she showed a rare moment of vulnerability. “How could this happen?” Scully murmured.

“It’s going to be all right, Scully.”

“Agent Scully, if anything, this just makes this job all the more rewarding,” Hal smiled encouragingly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This felt rushed and not my best work. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Disclaimer: Still the same. Hasn't changed. Don't own anything, merely borrowing.

Mulder leaned back into his basement office chair and rubbed his chin in thought. He had gotten to their x-files office early by himself. Scully had to go to Quantico for the morning to follow up one of their cases but she promised to be back in time for them to go to lunch and finish up at the office early so they could head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond before going home. Although they both had been avoiding the topic, preferring to fantasize the joy of having their son again, but if Will was going to live with them, things would change dramatically.

Like their caseload.

Skinner had been more than understanding so far (which surprised Mulder to no end). They could technically argue age for both of them (it wasn’t 1999 anymore) and could start loaning out their talents to their respective fields with more regularity. For Mulder, that meant profiling again, and for Scully, that meant forensic science, both merely for consultation. Their old boss demonstrated his cleverness further by justifying the x-files too by making their talents used primarily to look at those abnormal cases that others could not. Both Mulder and Scully had to give it Skinner. The assistant director had effectively taken the need of field work out of the x-files so that they could stay around Will more while justifying the existence of their department.

Mulder played the idea of him resigning from the FBI and Scully going back to medicine again like it had been before. True they had been happy, but the darkness came and invaded their life again, ultimately leading to their brief break up. If it was not for rejoining the FBI and regaining their work, he did not really know if they would have found each other again.

He shook his head and took off his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. There were two profiling cases waiting on his desk to be looked at but all his attention was focused on his son. Drumming his fingers, he dialed Scully’s number.

She answered on the first ring. “Scully.”

“Scully, it’s me,” he said softly.

Her tone softened instantly. “Mulder, I thought we agreed we wouldn’t see each other until lunch. It is only...9:43. Don’t tell me you miss me that much?”

He smiled into his phone. “Always, you know that.” She chuckled indulgently on the other end. “What’s wrong?”

“You know me that well?”

“Almost 25 years, Mulder.”

“Fine. I will do well to remember that later tonight.”

“Mulder!”

“What do the kids say? Sorry, not sorry. Anyways, I was thinking…”

“Why am I not surprised,” she mumbled.

“Just hear me out. What harm could it be, if we, use the main resources available to us as federal employees to look up a certain someone…” his voice trailed off. He really wanted to take advantage of his role as an FBI agent and pull up any records on Will’s foster parents or anything that might give them an edge in court.

But Scully had been the cooler head. “Mulder. No. We both agreed. We can’t risk it. What if you get caught? That bodes bad for us and our case.”

Scully, his conscience and voice of rationalism. God, he loved that woman. “Fine. But are we still going to Ikea…”

“Bed, Bath, and Beyond,” she corrected. “And yes. We have to figure out what we are going to do for the spare bedroom at the apartment. I haven’t even thought of the house.”

“This is really going to happen, isn’t it?” he whispered. He dare not think otherwise.

“We’re going to do it, Mulder,” she whispered back. Ever since Scully had her conversation with Will, she had grown more confident and optimistic. “How did it go with Skinner this morning? Any more field work?”

“Unless absolutely necessary. We still have the x-files, now consulting on all things weird in profiling and forensic science,” he answered proudly. “See, told you?”

“You told me nothing. Look, Mulder, I have to finish this autopsy. I’ll be back at 12:30. Lunch at that little coffee shop down the street?”

“It’s a date.”

“Oh, and call the lawyer and set up the appointment for the judge for Friday,” she reminded him. “Will has his meeting with him today.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Shut up, Mulder.”

Scully hung up and he chuckled to himself. Things were going to be all right. He just had to keep telling himself that.

. . . .

Will did his best to ignore Mrs. Styron’s glare as she reviewed his case file. She had pulled him from school early so they could make it to their meeting with the judge in the early afternoon. He sat, playing on his phone, his feet resting on his skateboard, rolling it back and forth. “I wish you had dressed a bit more professional, William,” she reminded primly.

“Well, I had no idea that you were coming to pick me up from school,” he retorted.

“I told you a week ago!”

Will did not bother to reply. He slumped against the wall and smiled when he saw a new text message from ‘DS’. He had put a little doctor emoji next to the initials to indicate who it was. He opened the message and saw a picture of various medical instruments.

He texted back. ‘What are you doing?’

The reply was instant. It was a selfie of Scully wearing a medical mask in what looked to be a medical lab with the text ‘Making my patients laugh to death.’

Will put a hand to his mouth to keep from chuckling out loud. Mrs. Styron looked at him pointedly and he smiled half heartedly. “Funny cat video.”

“Put away your phone, Will,” she sighed, shifting her gaze back the folder.

Will ignored her and texted back. ‘Bet you’re killing them.’

The reply came quickly. ‘Haha. You have a good day. Good luck with the judge.’

Will smiled, his heart caught in his chest. As he was about reply back to Scully, a new text popped up with ‘FM’ and a little alien emoji next to the initials. He opened the new text. ‘Scully reminded me. Good luck today bud.’

He was at a loss for words. These two strangers had somehow made him feel like he belonged like he was a part of their family. And while everyone else doubted, he knew deep down, they were his birth parents. He just knew. He hesitated before starting a new text, typing ‘DS’ and ‘FM’ into the bar. He typed, ‘Thanks mom & dad’. He stopped and let the text sit. He actually wrote that. Mom and dad. His real parents. He thought about deleting it but it felt right. He sent the text before he could second guess himself.

“Will,” Mrs. Styron called. “It’s our turn.”

Will slid his phone into his bag and picked up his backpack and skateboard under his arm. Mrs. Styron guided him into the judge’s chambers. Judge Hartwell rose from behind his desk and nodded towards them. “Just come from school, Mr. Van de Kamp?”

“Um, yes, sir,” he humbly answered.

“Well, I appreciate you coming in this afternoon,” he motioned towards two chairs that sat in front of his desk.

Mrs. Styron guided Will to the chair and sat opposite of him. Judge Hartwell tented his fingers in the front of his face. “So, it’s been almost a month William since that commotion in my courtroom. We’ve discovered your birth parents, and to my surprise, you managed to stay out of trouble. Congratulations is due.”

“Thank you?” Will replied uncertainly.

“But,” the judge sighed, opening two files, “we have a new quandary. Not everyday is a child in the system lucky enough to have to sets of people who want to adopt him, especially the original birth parents. But you have two sets of people who want the very best for you. I assume you know about the Gardners’ petition?”

Will nodded reluctantly. Since he had learned of the news, things had grown tense at the foster home. He was avoiding his foster parents like the plague. He stayed out later, wandering around Washington D.C. or just skating, not going home until he had too. “I do.”

“And Mrs. Styron has told you about the DNA tests with Agents Mulder and Scully? There is no doubt they are your biological parents.” Will nodded eagerly. The judge paused and drummed his fingers on the table. “What do you want, Will? Has your decision changed at all?”

He shook his head instantly. “I want to live with my birth parents.”

“Will,” Mrs. Styron chastised, “you can’t rush this decision.”

“I’m not rushing it,” he retorted. “I know it’s right in my heart. I want to live with them. No offense to the Gardeners or anything but I know where I belong.”

The judge nodded slightly, writing something in one of the files. “Keep in mind, William, that this does not guarantee your placement with the FBI agents. There are still things to consider.”

“Like what?”

“Living situation for one,” the judge shrugged. “The courts and CPS will be following up within the month on that. But in light of the background checks coming clean, I will allow visitation between you and them, William. No strings attached. Your case worker doesn’t have to be there, nor your foster parents. You can come and go as you please. Just don’t abuse the privilege.”

Will grinned. “For real, sir? That is so awesome!”

“Judge Hartwell, are you sure that is in the best thing for Will,” Mrs. Styron argued, “besides being very unorthodox.”

“If the boy is serious about living with these people, Mrs. Styron,” the judge patronized, “he deserves to get to know his birth parents at least. I have not been a judge sitting on the bench in family court for nothing. I do know a thing or two. Have a little faith. Everyone deserves their own miracle. Now, William, now that I have your answer, I will be talking to both parties during the next month while CPS conducts their business, okay? During that time, you are allowed to visit your birth parents as you please. Don’t abuse the privilege. And continue to stay out of trouble. You hear me, son?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mrs. Styron, I expect you and the Gardeners to abide by this arrangement and not interfere with this.”

“It won’t be a problem, Judge Hartwell,” Mrs. Styron said tightly.

“Good. I’ll be in touch, William, stay out of trouble.”

Will and Mrs. Styron got up to leave the judge’s chambers. He could not stop smiling.

. . . .

Scully got back to their basement office a little before noon, having finished her autopsy early. Mulder rose and greeted her with a kiss before they headed down to a local deli for lunch. He ordered their food as Scully secured a table them. She dug through her bag, searching for her phone when she noticed that she had an unread text message from Will. She had rushed back from Quantico that things like checking her phone had slipped her mind. She noticed the text was addressed to both her and Mulder.

“Mulder,” she called, as he came bearing their lunch. “Did you text Will this morning?”

“Just to wish him luck with the judge,” he shrugged. “Why?”

“He sent us both a text.”

Mulder drew out his own phone and frowned. He would have heard if he got a new text message but noticed he had left it on silent again. “For the record, Scully,” he said, holding up his phone. “I miss the old days when phones were bricks and all you could do was use them to call people.”

“Do you know how old you sound?” she asked. She bypassed the text message and opened the selfie she had sent Will earlier. “I even tried sending him a selfie.”

“A selfie,” Mulder chuckled examining the picture. “How current you sound with today’s lingo.”

She pushed him gently. “Shut up, Mulder. I just texted him because I could. I sent a picture of me working. He has a horrible sense of humor, just like his father. I don’t know, there is something just so normal about it. I know we missed a lot, but I don’t know. It just feels right.”

Mulder smiled and deposited her cobb salad and sprite in front of her and settled for his reuben, fries, and iced tea. She picked a couple of fries off his plate as she opened the message will had sent earlier. He took a bite of her salad in retaliation. He was distracted hearing her sharp intake of breath. “Oh my God.”

“What? Was it something he texted?” Scully had tears in her eyes as she showed Mulder the message. “He called us mom and dad, Mulder. Our son called us mom and dad.”

Mulder gently claimed her hand, squeezing it. “He’s going to come home, Scully. I promise.”

She nodded and attempted to eat some of her salad. Her heart was drumming in her chest and it did not feel like it could slow down. He kept a hold of her hand as he began to eat his own lunch. She nodded towards his phone. “Mulder, your phone is ringing.”

“So it is. Mulder,” he answered. “Mr. Brickman, what a surprise to hear your voice?”

Scully sat up straighter at the mention of their lawyer. She watched Mulder’s face during the brief exchange. “Really? Are you sure? Like this is legit? That’s wonderful news. Better than wonderful, it is amazing. I’ll tell Agent Scully. Thank you, Mr. Brickman. Yes. Have a good afternoon.” He hung up the phone and gently caressed Scully’s cheek. She arched an eyebrow at the rare public display of affection. “Will met with the judge today, made his intentions known. We have a month before the next hearing and child services will be checking out our living situation. But the judge said he could visit us, without that she devil he calls his case worker or the foster parents, whenever he wants.”

“So, we don’t have to hide it?”

“No,” he smiled.

She reached up and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “What do you say we bring him with us to Bed, Bath, and Beyond tonight and grab dinner too?” she suggested softly.

“I think that is a brilliant idea, Agent Scully,” he chuckled.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time, I had an idea. Then it was left alone. After a year of hiatus, I struggled to finish this. I don’t want you to think I went all Chris Carter on this but I just don’t have it in me. Please don’t hate me and I apologize in advance. No beta. I wrote this before season 11 was even in the works but it’s a nice little Will AU. Hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Sorry this took forever and thanks for hanging in there.

Will checked his bag for the nth time, making sure he had the picture album. The picture album was one of the few things he still had from Wyoming. He grabbed his jacket, phone, and skateboard before pulling on his book bag over his shoulders. He jogged down the stairs and saw his foster mother, Mrs. Gardner. She eyed him, as if she was unsure of what to do with Will. “Where are you going, William?”

“Out,” he said vaguely. He shifted uncomfortably at the door. “Is that okay?”

“Where exactly is ‘out?’”

He bit his lip. “The National Mall. I’m meeting...I’m meeting Mulder.”

There was the disappointment in her eyes. She nodded. “I just don’t want you getting your hopes up, Will.”

“Why?” he asked. “They’re good people.”

“We’re good people too.”

He bit his lip, trying to refrain from making a dumbass comment. “Look, I’ll be back around ten tonight. I have my phone.”

She nodded. “Well, call if you need anything.”

He nodded quietly. It still felt awkward. “I’ll see...I’ll see you later.”

Will disappeared out the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar SUV down at the end of the block. He jumped on his skateboard and skated the short distance down to them. He smiled when he also saw Scully sitting in the front seat with Mulder. “I hope you weren’t too disappointed, Will for me to barge in on this day of male bonding,” she teased.

“Male bonding, Scully? Honestly?”

Will grinned and climbed into the back seat. “Nope. I’m actually really happy to see both of you. So, are we going to Bed, Bath, and Beyond or what?”

“Actually,” Mulder began, looking up in the rearview mirror, “you know we don’t just have the apartment, right? We have a house about an hour in rural Virginia. We were thinking…” he looked at Scully for support, “that we could go by there first. You could…”

“You could pick out a room,” Scully finished for Mulder. She looked over her shoulder to Will. “I mean, we might be getting ahead of ourselves but what could it hurt?”

Will shifted uncomfortably in the back seat. “You don’t think they’ll approve of it?”

Scully looked to Mulder for help, her blue eyes full of emotion. “We did not say that, Will. We...Scully and I...we’ve just experienced a lot of heartbreak and pain in our lives. This seems almost good to be true. I mean, what were the odds you rob your birth mother and she chases you down and high heels?” Scully playfully smacked Mulder’s arm. “What? I was just stating the obvious.”

Mulder carefully maneuvered the SUV out into the Washington D.C. traffic. “The point is, Will, we just don’t want all of us to get our hopes up. I know you don’t call me ‘mom’ but I’m still your birth mother and I only want what is best for you, including trying to protect you in any way I can,” she said softly. “Mulder and I both only want to protect you.”

Will smiled slightly, touched by Scully’s admission. He glanced to the rearview mirror where Mulder’s hazel eyes glanced warmly up at him and then back towards the road. He focused on Scully’s blue eyes and continued to smile. “You know when you get a feeling that something is about to happen? You like to know in the bottom of your heart, that despite everything, as much as the world says no, your heart says yes.”

“Of course,” Mulder piped up from the driver side.

“Well, I can’t explain it, but that is how I feel now. I just know everything will work out in the end,” their son determined. He shifted his gaze out the passenger window, watching Washington D.C. slip by. “I just know.”

Nervously, Scully glanced at Mulder and she sought his hand in reassurance as a glimmering fear that she had put aside for fifteen years sat restlessly in the back of her mind.

. . . .

“This is where you live?” Will asked in disbelief as he got out of the SUV.

“Well, we did not split our time between here and the city until recently,” Scully began, carefully glazing over their brief separation. “We thought it was best that to stay in the middle of nowhere when we bought the place. I originally just worked at the hospital and Mulder…”

“I wrote,” he shrugged simply. “And was a good housewife.”

Will smiled. “I like it.”

“We need to come out here next weekend, Scully,” Mulder called, flipping through the mail. “Get some things cleaned up. Change our address to the apartments?”

“In time,” she replied distractedly as Will carefully went through the house, touching something every now and then. “You okay, Will?”

“Yeah. It’s just a bit weird. I don’t know how I fit in all this. I mean, what were the odds my own birth mom would be the one to arrest me,” he laughed. “And find out my parents are so…”

“So what?” Mulder asked, looking up. “Spooky?”

“Mulder, don’t start it with him.

“What?” Will asked, intrigued.

“Well, when I was at VCU originally, they called me Spooky Mulder,” he began.

“Because your father’s a weirdo,” Scully retorted before walking into the kitchen to inspect the contents of the fridge.

“Well, it sort of carried on with me, especially when I went down to the basement,” he said. “It was just me and my x-files, that is until I got word they were going to straddle me with a partner.”

Scully came back into the living room, shaking her head. “He thought I was a spy.”

“Well, that is why they assigned you to begin with, Scully.”

“You were a jerk. Are you hungry, Will?”

“I’m good, Dana. So what happened, Mulder?”

“She fell for my boyish charms enough in the first 48 hours to run to me in nothing but her underwear to check for mosquito bites. I knew it then I had a winner.”

“Mulder!” A balled up piece of paper came flying at him, which he ducked. “You don’t have to say every little detail!”

Will grinned. “So what is with the Spooky part?”

“I became Mrs. Spooky and we lived in the basement,” she shrugged. “It just sort of stuck.”

“So I’m Spooky Jr. then?” Will asked, arching an eyebrow similar to Scully’s.

Mulder looked at him for a moment. “If you want to be, sure.”

It was weird as their long lost song continued his inspection of the house as if nothing had happened. Scully quietly went to Mulder’s side, rubbing his arm. “What are you thinking?”

“The Spookys finally have a kid,” he whispered proudly.

. . . .

Will sat between both of them on the couch back at the Washington D.C. apartment. They had spent the day out at the unremarkable house, caught an early dinner on the way back into the city, and Will was finally able to show them what he had been lugging around in his bag all day. He pulled the large photo album from his backpack and opened the cover. “I thought, since we’ve just met--again, you would like to see pictures.”

“What sorts of pictures?” Scully asked but her voice fell silent of she saw a brown hair woman grinning and holding the William she remembered in that little UFO onesie. “Oh my God. Is that your adopted mom?”

“Yeah,” Will answered sadly with a smile. “That was the day I arrived.”

Scully had her own memories. The endless days of crying, sleeping on the floor in his room in her Georgetown apartment, holding Will’s baby blanket and one of Mulder’s shirts. Unable to help herself, she ran her fingers through his unruly hair. Will turned with surprise and she immediately withdrew. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled at her and, just as hesitantly, reached to take his birth mother’s hand. Mulder smiled and met Scully’s eyes. There was so much emotion at play. “I hope the judge rules in your favor,” Will began, removing his hand. “For what it’s worth. I want to live with you. Nothing against my foster parents.”

Mulder smiled and clasped his son’s knee in affirmation. “Us too. But even if the judge doesn’t rule in our favor, that doesn’t mean we’ll be completely out of your life, Will.”

“We’ll always be your parents too,” Scully said, “no matter what, and we will always have that.”

“True,” Will nodded, closing the photo album. “Do you mind if I leave this here? I thought you might like to look through it a bit more. Besides, it’s late and my foster parents are probably ready to call the cops on you.”

“Well it’s a good thing we’re FBI,” Mulder chuckled getting up. “I’ll drive you back.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can take the Metro.”

“It’s not a big deal, Will. I want to.”

Scully smiled despite herself. “I’ll talk to you later, Will?”

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” Will remarked, kissing her cheek. “Ready, Mulder?”

“Yeah. Do you want any leftovers or anything?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay. Scully, I’ll call when I’m on my way back. Let’s go, Will.”

“Coming. See you later, Dana!”

Scully smiled, raising her hand slightly in goodbye as Mulder walked out the door. As the door closed, she cast her eyes down at the photo album and smiled. She settled back on the couch again to watch her son grow up one more time.

. . . .

Mulder pulled up to the townhouse in northwest D.C. and saw a small woman staring at the window like a peeping tom. Will groaned and rolled his eyes at the sight. “She’s worse than my case worker. She honestly thinks that you all are crazy or let aliens abduct me,” he moaned.

He bit his lip and shook his head. “Well, we won’t let that happen. Text me and Scully together?”

“Of course,” Will said slipping out of the car. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

“I’d like that,” Mulder smiled. “Call me if you need anything.”

“You got it.”

Will closed the door and noticed how Mulder kept the SUV in place until he was safely inside the townhouse and he smiled. It was endearing to him to know that his birth father was already (or maybe had been all along) protective of him. He inwardly sighed when his foster mother stalked towards him.

“Where have you been?” she squawked.

“With my birth parents,” Will said curtly as he climbed the stairs. “I told you where I was. Why are you making such a big deal?”

“I almost called your caseworker!”

“Why? They are following the judges’ orders!”

“I don’t trust them! I am trying to do what’s right for you, William!”

“Will!” he snapped. “And it’s my life. I have a right to know my real parents.” Will steadied himself. “I know you are trying to do the right thing, but I know what’s right.”

He stormed up the stairs without another word.

. . . .

Three months passed with prolonged court dates and endless lawyer visits for Will, his case worker, the Gardners, and Mulder and Scully. CPS and the courts investigated the FBI agents thoroughly before coming to their conclusion. On April 1st, April Fool’s Day, Scully thought God must have been playing a joke on her when she received the call shortly before she and Mulder pulled into their parking space at the Hoover building. She burst out crying as Mulder hugged her tightly. Will was their’s, their baby son was coming home.

. . . .

“Home sweet home,” Mulder whispered into Scully’s ear as they sat on the porch swing. He slipped his arm around her cozily as they watched Will pick up a wooden bat and attempt to hit a tennis ball for an overeager Daggoo. “Ease up on the grip, Will!”

Will huffed in annoyance and in looked down at the mutt. “Hands before hips, right?” he asked the dog.

Daggoo barked eagerly in response.

“Hips before hands, honey,” Scully called. “Just like your father taught me.”

Will dropped the bat in annoyance. “You all were on a date. That isn’t sound advice.”

“I was teaching Scully how to play baseball,” Mulder corrected.

Their son shrugged. “I don’t know why. She’s a better hitter than you.”

Scully laughed, burying her head into Mulder’s chest as he did his best to hide his smile. “Don’t make me regret not staying in D.C. for summer school, Will.”

“And miss all this?” Their son motioned to the property, the house, and lingered on his birth parents. “Good luck, Dad.”

Mulder felt his chest puff slightly with pride. He never got tired of Will calling him ‘dad’ or Scully ‘mom.’ He had always dreamed of this. The perfect ending. Scully smiled and stroked his chest. “He’s too much like you,” she mumbled.

Will had picked up the bat and tossed up the tennis ball. The bat cracked against the rubber and sent the ball flying and Daggoo after it. They watched Will paused and smile, marveling at his hit. “He’s too much like you,” he whispered to Scully.

“Really? You know, he’s sixteen. He’s already asking about the car.”

“He needs his learner's permit first.”

“You can take him.”

“You’re teaching him to drive since I have short legs.”

Mulder snorted in amusement as Will dropped the bat in annoyance. “Daggoo!” he called. “Damn dog, get back here with that ball!” He jogged out into the field when he heard the yippy barking in the distance. “Daggoo!”

Scully watched their son chase the Jack Russell. “Should we help him?”

“In a bit,” Mulder replied, rubbing her back, “I’m just taking a moment to immortalize this.”

“Why?” She kissed his cheek. “What’s so special?”

“We finally got our happy ending,” he told her, stealing one more kiss.

End.


End file.
